good morning. who's victory is it? tea party backed candidate christine o'donnell pulls off upset in delaware's republican senate primary. so why are the democrats celebrating her win this morning? we'll hear from the candidate herself. bittersweet. american hiker sarah shourd reunites with her mom and speaks out for the first time since her release from an iranian prison. but what will happen to the two other americans still jailed there? this morning, their mothers join us for a live interview. and zapping the fat. two new devices promise to help give people better-looking bodies without needles, injections, or exercise. can they really work for you?

we'll tell you today, wednesday, can they really work for you? we'll tell you today, wednesday, september 15th, 2010. captions paid for by nbc-universal television and good morning. welcome to "today" on a wednesday morning. i'm matt lauer. >> and i'm meredith vieira. christine o'donnell virtually unknown just a few weeks ago, but this morning she's officially the gop's candidate for the senate seat vacated by joe biden. >> o'donnell is now the sixth tea party candidate to win a race this year. but this morning, some are saying her win could actually be a costly blow to the republican's hopes of reclaiming control of congress in november. why? we'll explain. and we'll talk to christine o'donnell about her victory, straight ahead. also ahead, for the first time, we're hearing from the connecticut doctor who was the

only member of his family to survive a brutal home invasion. his wife and two doctors were all killed. coming up, his chilling account of what happened that night as he faced one of his family's accused killers in court. >> that story still sends chills up my spine. on a lighter note, an emotional reunion for our "today's" wedding bride and groom. jeremy has served the past seven months in ago. last night, finally, he and melissa were reunited here in new york. we'll chat with them and unveil the wedding gown and tux she selected for their big day, which is fast approaching. >> happy for them. let's begin with the results of the final primaries before november's midterm elections and what they mean for both parties. we'll talk to christine o'donnell about her surprise victory in delaware in just a moment. but first, kelly o'donnell has the latest. kelly, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, meredith. well, the tea party has toppled conventional wisdom again, and here in delaware, the result is both shocking and convincing, because it wasn't close.

the most popular republican in the state, mike castle, he is out. democrats are suddenly very excited and o'donnell says, don't count her out in a fight to get the seat that joe biden held for 36 years. >> ladies and gentlemen, the people of delaware have spoken. >> reporter: the conservative rebellions rolled over delaware's republican party brass. >> don't ever underestimate the power of, we, the people. >> reporter: an upset hard to imagine just a few weeks ago. conservative christine o'donnell was propelled by several key groups, and that movement's most famous figure. >> you betcha! >> there's another woman i got to thank, you betcha! thank you, governor palin, for your endorsement. >> reporter: o'donnell was ridiculed and written off by other republicans as unelectable. she had never won before, but knocked out congressman mike

castle, who had never lost in a dozen races. castle did not offer his congratulations. >> the voters in the republican primary have spoken and i respect that decision. >> reporter: castle had called o'donnell unqualified. >> she didn't pay thousands in income taxes. >> reporter: animosity was so intense the state republican party paid for robo calls, where o'donnell's past campaign manager attacked her. >> i found out that she was living on campaign donations. using them for rent and personal expenses, while leaving her workers unpaid and piling up thousands in debts. >> reporter: o'donnell denies misusing funds. she claims her own financial hard times actually help her understand voters' anger. >> a lot of people have already said that we can't win the general election. i know. >> reporter: democratic officials are gleeful, and called her an ultra-right wing extremist.

ironically, her supporters used an obama slogan to predict victory in november. >> yes, yes, we can! >> reporter: turning to new hampshire's gop senate primary, a tight race, too close to call. former state attorney general kelly ayotte, the choice of both the republican establishment and sarah palin, against a tea party-endorsed conservative activist, ovide lamontagne. on to new york, where the republican nominee for governor is another tea party conservative, real estate developer carl paladino over the party favorite, former congressman, rick lazio. while new york democrats stood by 20-term congressman charlie rangel, who's accused of house ethics violations. rangel beat back several challengers. >> i go back to washington stronger than i've ever been! >> reporter: and back here in delaware, democrats didn't have a primary fight for the senate

seat, so chris coombs is their candidate. in november, o'donnell, who has worked as a media consultant for conservative nonprofit groups says that she's hoping to get donations, even though the national party is reluctant to get behind her, and she also hopes to get the endorsement of mike castle. that has not happened yet. she's calling for unity, isn't sure if she can expect it, but says the tea party is behind her. matt? >> kelly o'donnell, thank you very much. christine o'donnell is with us now from dover, delaware. miss o'donnell, good morning. congratulations. >> thank you. thank you very much for having me, matt. >> in the last couple of weeks, boy, they've said some terrible thicks about you. you're unelectable, unqualified. most people thought i'd be sitting here this morning talking to a guy named mike castle. so, i mean, that's my long way of saying good morning. what happened? >> good morning. well, you know, there's a lot of folks here in delaware who are

concerned about the direction of our country. they've been shut out of the political process and this past year, we've seen an uprising of everyday americans who are fighting to take back their country, and i've been fortunate enough to earn their support and they had their voice heard last night. i think the people of delaware spoke loud and clear, that politics as usual is over. >> is it that general sense that you described of dissatisfaction? do you think that made the difference? or is there a specific thing you can put your finger on? was there an event, was there a comment, or was it what i described in that first question, that people heard so many disparaging things about you, that in some ways, it incited their anger? >> i think it was a combination of all of that, matt. we've been working very hard for the past six months to go up and down the state, meet as many voters as possible, but it doesn't take an expert to figure out that our country is going broke. and washington keeps putting out these failed policies that just aren't sustainable. and we've been taking our

message and proposing our solutions to the people of delaware. they've been rallying behind me. i've been asking them, get to know me. i've been making myself very accessible, making sure that i'm in every county, every week, so when my opponent did take that negative turn, so many people knew he already and knew that the picture he was painting didn't fit with what they knew me to be. so i think it was a combination of all of that, just peaking at the perfect time. >> two words -- sarah palin. scale of one to ten, how much did her endorsement mean to you, ten being a home run? >> oh, i think it was a ten. because what she did was in the middle of all that mudslinging coming out, she came out and endorsed me. and it was a vote against the politics of personal destruction. and what that did was allowed the people who maybe were still on the fence and wondering, is this true, it gave them the opportunity to look beyond that.

and to realize, you know, i need to give this candidate a chance and pick her up on the opportunity to come out and meet her. and it certainly was a turning point. she of all people knows what it's like to be hit by the establishment when you're about to topple their power, and that's exactly what we did last night. >> even here, after your victory last night, you're once again getting no respect. some this morning are calling your victory a great thing for democrats. and they're calling your new opponent, chris coombs, the luckiest man in american politics. in other words, they're saying, he is now a shoo-in, you can't win. where do you go from here? >> you know, that's not true. they never thought that we would win and they'd never thought we'd win as big as we did. so what this whole campaign is about is making the impossible possible. it's about visionaries and leaders putting their principles into practice. so it's a shame, i think a few

people got their pride bruised last night. a few of the so-called experts proved that once again, they were wrong. this is a very unpredictable political season where anything goes. but the folks are craving candidates who are willing to stand for something. so, you know, once again, they're going to be proven wrong in november, because my team got the boost of excitement they needed last night and we're reenergized and ready to sprint towards november, which is just about a month and a half away. >> what about the funding, because it's an expensive race. john cornyn, the chair of the committee that doles out money to republican senatorial candidates was asks yesterday, would he pull money out of your state if you were to become the republican nominee. he said, we're going to have to sit down and have a powwow. that doesn't sound like a ringing vote of confidence. so do you think you'll get money from the national republican party? >> well, i don't know if we'll get money from the national republican party, but i know that we're going to get money -- the money that we need. we won this election with just

barely a tenth of what my opponent had already raised. we got a lot of phone calls last night from some other heavy hitters, who assured me that they will make sure that we get what we need. and you know what else? delaware is so small that we don't need the war chest that a senate candidate in pennsylvania or florida or california needs. we need about $1 million to finish this last month and a half. so christine2010.com, for anyone who wants to help do what the nrsc won't do. >> i knew you'd get it in there, on this morning after the primaries, perhaps the candidate grabbing the biggest headlines is christine o'donnell. miss o'donnell, congratulations. thanks for joining me. >> thank you, matt. thank you very much. >> now here's meredith. >> matt, thank you. so what do tuesday's primary results mean for democrats? former virginia governor tim kaine is the chairman of the democratic national committee. governor kaine, good morning to you. >> good to be with you, meredith. >> good to have you here. christine o'donnell wins in delaware and it is the democrats who are grinning ear to ear, in part because so many analysts

say she cannot win a general election. what does her win mean for the democratic party? >> i think that's part of it. that we have a chance to win a race that was going to be extremely difficult for us to win, and now we feel like we have a super chance to win with chris coons. the other thing i think it shows is the deep civil war that's going on in the republican party. i think the message is, moderates aren't welcome. moderates keep out. mike castle, a classic moderate republican who had been governor and a nine-term congressman rejected, that means the moderate and independent voters are going to have to look really hard -- >> or it shows that you are underestimating the tea party and tea party candidates? >> well, we're going to see in november, obviously. but i'll tell you this, meredith, we feel very, very comfortable that we're going to win races in november that six months ago we felt like we were going to lose because of these candidates. the tea party has energy, and you have to acknowledge that, but a lot of the energy is turned on themselves, rather than turned on us. and so we see chasing arlen specter out of the party,

charlie crist out of the party, beating lisa murkowski, beating bob bennett, beating mike castle. again and again, they're throwing the moderates overboard. and that creates opportunities for us to get those moderate independent voters. >> meanwhile in new york, charlie rangel did very well. he won in his primary, but he does face this trial in front of the house ethics committee just weeks before the election in november. how troubling is that for democrats? certainly a distraction. >> it is a distraction, but the good news is, remember, the ethics process in congress was nonexistent until speaker pelosi became speaker and said, we're going to have a vigorous ethics process, and serious allegations will be taken seriously. the process is going to play out. but congressman rangel won and won big last night. >> a lot of people are noticing, these democratic candidates, as they go along and sort of pitch themselves to the public, what they're not talking about are the successes of the democratic party, the accomplishments, like the economic stimulus package, health care reform, financial reform. why are they running away from these legislative successes? >> i talk about them whenever i

go, meredith. an economy that was shrinking is now growing. >> you may, but the candidates are. >> the candidates i see do. they tend to pick the things they care most about or match with their districts. just yesterday, a breakthrough on this small business lending bill, which i think is going to be enormously helpful to small businesses, who need capital. so i think the democratic message leads with, we're a party of action, we're producing change that matters in a whole lot of areas. that's how you start. >> meanwhile, you're here because you have a big announcement for your party. a new look, a new message. >> it's three things, a new look, a new message, new tools. every decade or so, we get into the basic look of the party, the motto and how we put it together, so we're rolling out a new web page, democrats.org today, and we're switching the look that has been in place for a decade from a focus on the dnc, which is a focus on the structure, to we want to focus on the people, democrats. more than 75 million americans proudly claim to be democrats. so we're switching the focus from the structure, which is important to the people. >> but, you know, in television, when there's a problem with a tv

station, the first thing they do is change the set, thinking that will improve things. usually doesn't. the democrat's party in trouble now, aren't you just changing the set? >> listen to the rest of it. new message, change that matters. in the last month, we celebrated three great anniversaries. women's suffrage, social security, and the voting rights act, democratic. yesterday, small business lending. health insurance, equal pay for women, great changes that democrats are about. but the most important thing, to me, is the tools. this website, democrats.org, provides amazing tools for people. the page will come up with the candidates from your community and action you can take to help the candidates between now and november. >> dnc chairman, tim kaine, thank you very much. >> you bet, meredith. now let's get a check of the rest of this morning's top stories with ann curry over at the news desk. >> good morning, everybody. we begin with the first full day of premium in more than a year for american hiker sarah shourd. after being in prison for 13 months in iran, she arrived in oman late tuesday, greeted by her mother, norah. she had to leave behind her fiance, shane bauer, and friend, josh fattal, who are still being held on charges of spying for

illegally crossing the border. we're going to have more on this story, coming up on this broadcast this morning. police in afghanistan used live ammunition this morning to break up demonstrators chanting "death to america" in protests across kabul. the protests are a lingering reaction to a florida pastor's plan to burn the koran, even though he has called it off. a delta airlines pilot who has been suspended while the company investigates whether or not he was about to fly drunk from the netherlands to the united states. we've got nbc's tom costello now joining us with more on this. tom, what are the details? >> reporter: ann, good morning. the pilot is said to be 52 years old from new jersey, who was in the cockpit of delta flight 53, preparing to leave amsterdam for newark when a member of the flight felt the pilot was not fit for duty. dutch police were called to the plane, they removed the pilot. the pilot was found to have a blood alcohol level of 0.023. that is barely above the maximum allowed for dutch law and not above the faa's standards.

the faa's regulations says a pilot cannot have a blood alcohol level greater than 0.04, but the dutch have some of the greatest standards in europe. 0.02 is what they consider to be over the maximum allowed blood alcohol level. in the u.s., by comparison, it's 0.08 for driving. so, again, he was at 0.023. this pilot was barely above what the dutch law allows, not above the faa minimums, not falling down drunk. the flight was canceled yesterday and the pilot was suspended. >> tom costello, thanks so much. gold is up again today for yet another record after soaring on tuesday. we've got melissa lee at the new york stock exchange with more on this. how should we be reading this rise in gold prices? >> it's called the fear trade because gold is considered a safe haven investment. a couple reasons behind the rise of the price in gold. first of all, uncertainty in the markets, and also fears that the federal reserve may be forced to initiate another round of treasury purchases that could total $1 trillion in order to bolster the economy, with this

fresh record high, gold is up 16% this year. >> thanks so much, melissa lee. and if you think airline seats are a tight squeeze now, check this out. a company called aifionavion interiors reduces the space between the seat. no airlines have signed up for them at least not yet. finally an airline that is undersized like bob costas. we love bob, bob we love you. we kid because we love bob. >> he's goinging i can't even believe she said that. that came out of the left field. that's good.

stephanie abrams in for al. >> let's have a look at igor, in the atlantic and it is going to continue on the same path that it's on and no, we don't anticipate landfall with igor here in the united states, we will feel its effects in the form of rip currents, here's a look at what's happening across the golden gate bridge. we've got fog right there across the midspan, maybe some misty skies around the pain. let's go hour by hour, lots of low clouds, even inland around the bay area. out towards livermore and pleasanton, low clouds to kick off the day. by the afternoon, the clouds break up inland. we'll stay with low clouds on the coast. 78 san jose, 80s inland. here comes the big change in your seven-day forecast. a chance of showers showing up, especially in the north bay later on saturday on into sunday. >> mat, over to you.

all right, stephanie, thanks very much, millions of americans are overweight and looking for an easy fix. now the fda has initiated two new technologies promising to freeze and fry your fat away. do they work? are they safe? nancy snyderman is our medical editor. >> it's not for the obese. here's what was caught underneath the headlines. it's not for people who want to lose weight. it's a technology that's going to supercede liposuction, it's for changing the contour of a body, not for just getting rid of -- >> this is aesthetics pure and simple. >> you can change the fat that's around the organs or the inside. >> in reading the material here, one that caught my attention, the laser that zaps the fat, that deflates the cells, doesn't that fat then have to go somewhere? does it get absorbed into the

blood, what? >> brilliant question, it does have to go somewhere. the low grade laser punches holes in the fat cells and to break it up. it goes into the bloodstream, temporarily you're going to get a spike in the bloodstream, and your body will take care of that and you will excrete it. you have said in the past there are good fat cells and bad fat cells. does this laser know the difference? >> the fact that on our hips and on our thighs and under our hands that's the subcutaneous fat that's the good stuff. that fat secretes a lot of hormones, to toxic stuff is that that surrounds your belly. >> the freezing or the zapping, does the fat just eventually come back. >> hopefully not.

it looks like once you squish these fat cells, once you laser them or whether you freeze them, they just go away. here's what people have to remember, this is for changing the shape of a body, this is not for a fat person, this is for a person with lumps and bumps and bulges and love handles. it's up to $3,000 or more. >> what kind of doctor do you go see? >> at least a board certified plastic surgeon. make sure this is someone who just didn't take a weekend course to figure out the gizmos and this is not going to be covered by insurance. this is money out of pocket, and if you still have to lose weight, the weight loss comes first t body sculpting comes second. >> 7:22, just ahead, the sole sure vaivivor of a deadly home invasion opens up about the night that his wife and two

daughters were brutally murdered.

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this morning an explosive allegation directed at pg&e and what the company may have known in the days leading up to the blast. today in the bay's bob redell is live in san bruno this morning. bob, a family of one of the victims say they smelled gas before the blast. >> reporter: elizabeth torres who lives in this neighborhood had called pg&e thursday the day of the explosion because she said she smelled gas and her stove wasn't working. she was waiting for the utility to arrive when the pipeline blew up, killing her at three other people. the ntsb is looking into this

report and is asking anyone with any more information to please speak up. >> we've had almost 90 e-mails in response to our request for that information and so far only one of them has said they called pg&e, but that was two or three weeks before and pg&e responded to that. >> reporter: the ntsb is taking a section of the ruptured pipeline to washington, d.c., for analysis to see if the welds might have failed and caused that gas line to rupture. coming up we'll have rob mayeda with our forecast right after this.

welcome back. our cloudy skies eventually will clear up inland with 78 san jose, 65 around san francisco. out to the tri-valley, some 80s popping up. notice the seven-day forecast and the changes coming our way for the weekend. a chance of showers, believe it or not, saturday on into sunday. laura. >> we believe it because you tell us. thanks, rob. i'll have another local news update in about half an hour. "today" returns in less than a minute. have a great morning.

7:30 now on this wednesday morning, september 15, 2010. you're looking at new york city on a gorgeous morning. and we are happy these folks decided to start their day with us. i'm meredith viera along with matt lauer. >> sara shourd has spoken out for the first time and reuniteded with her mother on tuesday. and also we'll talk to the

mothers of shourd's fiance and friend who are still being held in iran and could stand trial on spy related charges. and following the harassment of a female sports reporter by members of the new york jets why. are the clothes she's wearing getting as much as tension as her taunts. are you better off renting? what you need to know before diving into today's rocky real estate market. dr. ian pettitte who lost his wife and daughters faced one of his accused attackers in court. >> reporter: good morning to you, what makes this crime so shocking, even just where it happened, the beautiful quiet upscale suburb here in connecticut, but also how it happened. it was the middle of the night,

his family was sleeping a pretty prominent family in this area. when prosecutors say two men broke in, tied them up, tortured them and then killed them. only the father survived. dr. william bennett. he took the stand to talk about those final moments. this is the last image every taken of his wife withdrawing $15,000. prosecutors say the payoff the men holding her family hostage. it was a mother's final desperate act to save her family. a prominent doctor and their two children tied up and tortured. michaela was only 11, a girl scout, haley was 17, and had just been accepted at dartmouth. these two excon who is broke into the pettitte home as they slept.

>> i just tried to do the best i could for my family. william pettitte was a loan survivsur -- they too tied my hands at the wrists and my feel at the angles. one of the suspects said if he moves put two bullets in him. because of the blood loss, i wasn't functioning very well. he could hear his wife and children being tortured in another section of the house. i heard the moaning and thumps. i may have yelled out hey, a voice yelled back, don't worry, it will all be over in a couple of minutes and it was. prosecutors say they raped pettitte's wife and killed her before burning the house down, also killing both of his daughters. >> i think we're making good progress. >> how emotional was it for you to be on the stand "today"? >> very emotional. >> reporter: the jury saw

evidence photos of pettitte's head wounds at the hands of his attackers. he told the jury about his own mirraculous escape from basemen. i was working to get my hands free, he said, i really felt a major jolt of adrenaline. he hopped out of the house and rolled across the lawn to a neighbor's house for help. the suspect in this first trial steven hays hept his eyes down in court. prosecutors are going for the death penalty. >> both defendants have agreed to plead guilty in return for life in prison without possibility of release. >> reporter: hays lawyer said it wasn't premeditated. things got out of control, no one was supposed to get hurt.

>> the evidence was so overwhelm ing that the defense had no viable defense, not a credible one. and they decided this was the best chance to save the defendant's life. >> three lives ended and another was changed forever. this trial is so emotional, to charged, meredith, already this week and it's already been day two of the trial, day three "today," four jurors have already been released including one yesterday who told the judge, i just can't follow the evidence. >> now let's get a check of the weather. >> "today's" weather is brought to you by vw, with 13 different models, it's a whole new volkswagen and a whole new game. >> we're going to start in the atlantic with we do have hurricane julia that is spiraling wide out into the open there and we do not anticipate this making landfall.

also we have karl to deal with here and there you go, tropical storm karl making landfall here on the yucatan and then eventually crossing over the bay of campeche, and back into we're going to take you into san jose right now. we've got overcast skies that should start to clear probably later on in the morning, then in the afternoon they'll see temperatures eventually in the 70s. 72 san jose, still hanging on to the 60s all day around san francisco but eventually breaking out into the upper 70s and low 80s in the santa clara valley. warmer around morgan hill and livermore. just about the same forecast tomorrow. the changes come up as we go into friday and saturday. more clouds spill in and a chance of some rare september showers for the weekend. >> meredith, over to you. up next, american iker sarah shourd speaks out for the first time after being released from an iranian prison. but what will happen to her

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sarah shourd is a free woman "today," but she's appealing to iran to free her friends shane bauer and their friend jash fattal. the wealthy persian gulf nation that secretly negotiated her release from iran and reportedly paid her half million dollar bail. it was an emotional passage to freedom for shourd, after more than a year in solitary confineme confinement. >> all of my efforts are going to go into helping procure the same freedom for my fiance shane bower and my friend josh fattal because i can't enjoy my freedom without them. they should be standing here with me. >> reporter: the three young americans had been hiking in the kurdish section of iraq, wandered over the border. they saw each other for only an hour a day, and that's where last january shane proposed to

sarah. now they have separated again, as she was swept from prison to a sleek private jet. pale and thin after her or deal, she said she was grateful even to iran for letting her go. >> i want to offer my thanks to everyone in the world, all of the governments, all of the people that have been involved and especially in particularly want to address president ahmadinejad and all of the iranian officials and the religious leaders and thank them for this humanitarian gesture. b. >> reporter: but in a carefully staged interview she appealed for the return of shane and josh. >> i have a huge debt to repay the world for what it's done for me and my first priority is to help my fiance shane bower and my friend josh fattal. >> laura fattal reflecting on sarah's release. >> i'm very happy, but it was very bittersweet because i want

to have that same happiness and i know cindy does too and we want josh and shane home as soon as possible. >> reporter: iran says it will try the two men on charges of espionage. but a challenge to the president to bring the men to new york with him when he comes to the u.n. general assembly next week. >> josh fattal's mother laura and shane bauer's mother are here with us this morning. can there be a better description than mixed emotions this morning. >> it is bittersweet, we are so happy that sarah is with nora but i want josh home and i know cindy wants shane home. >> the emotion between a mother and a child, i'm very happy that

nora and sarah are together, i can't wait until that tub opportunity is given to me. >> do you have anymore information on the deal that was struck? do you have anymore information about that? >> we don't. we really, really don't. >> obviously the iranians have shown they can be dealt with. do you think there's more of opportunity for some diplomatic solution for your sons now? >> we have always been optimistic but this increases the optimism and we're very grateful for the country of overwheoman for helping sarah gain her freedom. >> even as the iranians have released sarah, whatever deal was struck, they have indicted all three on spying charges and they have extended publicly the

detention for your sons. are we in a situation do you fear where they have been pressured into showing compassion for one and might take a harder line against your sons now? >> again my optimism pervades my i have thinking and i really believe that they see that josh, shane and sarah were hiking in kurdistan and they are innocent hikers. >> remind me of the level of contact you have had if any with your sons. >> the last time i spoke with shane was may 21st when i left him in tehran. >> so are you hoping if you get a chance to talk to sarah, she might be able to provide more their physical condition and emotional state as well. >> absolutely. >> when might you be able to do that. >> we're hoping very soon. i'm very anxious to talk to sarah.

>> and if you could speak to iranian officials this morning, and we have asked you this before, what would you say to them. >> please, please release josh and shane, now we can just say josh and shane, sarah is home but president ahmadinejad is coming to the united states for the u.n. general assembly. we say please bring josh fattal and shane bauer over to the united states and to us, to their mothers. we f inrs crossed.ve you back, thank you. it's 7:46, we're back right after this. i do a lot of different kinds of exercise,

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this morning on "today's" real estate, to buy or rent, that is a question a lot of families are struggling with given the current economy and housing prices. how do you decide which is best? here's barbara corcoran. good morning to both of you. what's going on in the real estate market right now that might sway you one way or the other? >> people have for the most part, they're not believing anymore that owning a home is the american dream and as a result of that, it's totally shifted what people are doing. 40% of all people who have owned a home are now choosing to rent. that's never happened before. >> lerts talk about the reasons why it's a good idea to rent?

>> easy in, easy out. you can move out, you can follow a job into a different market. you can't do that when you're trying to unload a house. >> for most people you want to make sure you're going to be in a house about five years if you want to buy it. and if you're not sureculations, there's a great -- once you figure in the transaction, the cost of the move, it gets expensive and it takes you that long to make the difference on your money back. >> you would rent rather than buy because someone else is going to fix it. >> when you buy a house, you have to count on 1% or 2% of the value of that house in maintenance every single year. >> and another reason to rent versus buy, if you have poor credit, it's the best way to go. >> reasons to buy rather than rent, record low mortgage right

now, it's a good reason. >> that is a huge reason, is that correct every percentage a mortgage falls is worth about 9% of the mortgage falls. >> what is the interest rate right now. >> about 4.5%. >> and to put that into monthly payments. two years ago, a mortgage would have cost you $1,700 a month, now it's about $900. coupled with a 30% discount on buying the house. low prices and cheap money at the same time. >> another reason to buy, living in a nice neighborhood, if you really would like to live in a house, you're going to end up buying it if it's in the neighborhood, right? >> you want to look at schools, if you want to buy a house in a particular neighborhood with particular schools, you want to get in there. >> finally forced savings for retirement. >> your home is really a piggie

bank. it's not an atm, as we have learned, it's really not a 401(k), but it is an asset when you pay off your mortgage, you will accrue value over time. >> a mortgage can force you to have a nice place that's cheap and a little bundle at the end when you go to retire. >> best places to rent, top cities, new york, omaha, seattle, portland, san francisco. top cities to buy, indianapolis, a lotton, miami, fresno, san antonio.

have you tried honey bunches of oats yet? every spoonful is a little different. mmm. they got three kinds of flakes. this is delicious. it's the perfect combination of sweet and crispy. i love it. this is so good. this is great. the magic's in the mix. words alone aren't enough. my job is to listen to the needs and frustrations of the shrimpers and fishermen, hotel or restaurant workers who lost their jobs to the spill. i'm iris cross. bp has taken full responsibility for the clean up in the gulf and that includes keeping you informed. our job is to listen and find ways to help. that means working with communities. and businesses impacted by the spill. we've paid over $400 million in claims and set up a $20 billion independently-run claims fund to cover lost income until people impacted can get back to work. and our efforts aren't coming at tax-payer expense.

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good morning to you. 7:56 right now. i'm laura garcia-cannon. let's take a look at our morning commute. >> we have a disabled vehicle somewhere along thein cliep. it should be moving but traffic moving slowly up the incline. the backup looks pretty standard at the bay bridge toll plaza camera but it extends back to the maze and the metering lights will be a little slower until they can get that bridge cleared. 880 shows you very slow past the coliseum. although 45 miles per hour on average, it feels a lot slower than it actually is. about a 20 to 22-minute drive from 238 up to downtown oakland as well as down the east shore freeway. rob. a little gray there. >> lots of gray skies.

right around lunchtime inland we'll clear out and warm up. mild temperatures with 78 san jose, 80s inland, 60s for san francisco. about the same story repeats tomorrow, but here comes a change. friday more clouds spill in, chance of showers north of santa rosa. it's saturday night to early sunday forecast that may spill showers as far south as san jose with cooler temperatures, so i t. thth time is 7:57. re news after the break. s

they say politics can make for interesting bedfellows.

jerry brown and bill clinton are banding together against meg whitman. president clinton said he supports jerry brown's bid for governor. it comes after brown apologized to clinton for making a monica lewinsky joke and questioned clinton's ability to tell the truth. meanwhile meg whitman refuses to pull an ad which shows a 1992 debate where clinton accuses brown of lying about his tax record. clinton says the ad is based on faulty information from a cnn report. whitman is slated to speak at yelp headquarters in san francisco today. no word if she'll address the latest ads from the brown camp that depict her as pinioch.

we're back now, 8:00 on a wednesday morning, it is the 15th day of september. it's clear and full here in the northeast. great day on the plaza. and say hi to the people back home. thank you folks for stopping by. this woman just said you're blocking me from the tv, i'm so sorry. i will get out of the way. >> get out of the way. >> i'm matt lauer along the meredith viera. we're going to have more on the story of the alleged harassment of a female sports reporter. >> everyone from rush limbaugh

to the late night sports reporters on what she wears instead of the football players behavior. does it matter what she had on? and our "today" show bride and groom have finally been reunited for the first time in seven months. jeremy arrives home from a seven-month deployment in afghanistan, she got stateside just a short time ago. so those two back together. they are here for the first time together. so we're going to have a little fun and get to talk to them in a second. and also get to show them what wedding gown and tuxedo our viewers chose for their big day which is coming up in just a couple of weeks. >> would you like to be a brides maid in this wedding? also ahead, are cupcake pans just for cupcakes?

>> not really. >> there's all kinds of things you can do with your little muffin pans. that sounds so wrong, but anyway. >> let's get a check of the morning headlines. >> reporter: good morning once again, everybody, in the nude, midterm elections just seven weeks away, the tea party is boasting a key victory, christine o'donnell, upset former governor mike castle on tuesday in the battle for vice president joe biden's old senate seat. charlie ranged prevailed in spite of ethics charges. sarah shourd says she will now work to win the release of her two fellow hikers held for more than a year in iran. she was met by her mother in oman, a persian gulf ally who

negotiated for shourd's release. u.s. forces officially gave up the lead role in combat operations last month. today outgoing bp tony hayward testifies before british lawmakers looking into the gulf oil spill. the restaurant chain -- the communication says the plastic casing on the toys can be crushed or pulled apart exposing small batteries which then can be swallowed by small children. and poignant images from fenway park in boston where 5,000 people took the vow and became new american citizens on tuesday. it was one of the largest swearing in ceremonies ever. it is now 8:03, let's go back outside to meredith and al. >> so al has departed for a couple of days, but we are lucky

enough to have stephanie abrams filling in. >> it's 60 degrees right now on the plaza, you really need a sweater and a jacket. what's the coldest you have ever felt? >> 40 below. >> 40 below so this is nothing for you guys. 59 for a high today in burlington, vermont. that moves eastbound into the thursday and friday forecast, but for " we're seeing kind of a cloudy start to the morning around the bay area, but the more interesting changes happening just up the coast to the north. we're going to see more clouds filling in on friday, and some rather unusual weather, we suspect, as we move into the weekend. today, 78, san jose, once the low clouds break up midday. 80s inland. 76 for pentaluma. your seven-day forecast not much change between today and tomorrow, but the weekend, late saturday and sunday, we leave in

a chance of showers as we move through the weekend. >> for your forecast go to weather.com, 24 hours a day. these are apparently for you, i'll bring them over to you. coming up, new controversy over a female sports reporter who was

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it pays to discover. back now at 8:08, with fallout of alleged harassment of a sports reporter by the new york jets. >> she says she's ready to put this controversy behind her, but it appears that plenty of others are not. her experience in the locker room has sparked a national debate over what is appropriate attire and behavior in the workplace. >> reporter: before this week, most americans have never heard of the nets sign. but after -- the sports reporter from mexico's tv azteca as become the story. >> i feel that the environment was uncomfortable because i know they are talking about me.

>> reporter: the national football league is taking the matter seriously telling nbc news on tuesday officials interviewed jets' players and coaches as well as members of the media to gather facts in the case that was first brought to the league's attention by a group representing female sports reporters. saenz says she will not sue the team. >> every reporter should be comfortable and that's the way it is. it's a workplace for every reporter here as well as, you know, the players and all of us here. >> reporter: but another player, clinton portis of the washington redskins may have revealed some of that locker room mentality making comments on a sports show on tuesday. >> you put a woman and you give her a choice of 53 athletes, you

know somebody got to spark her interest or she's going to want somebody. >> conservative talk show host rush limbaugh who had a brief controversial stint as an nfl comment tate for. >> she knows she has an asset, depending on that part of the country you're from, she's got it, she is making no attempt to downplay it or hide it, none whatsoever. >> what she wears is part of her on air image. the 32-year-old is a celebrity back in mexico. where many female reporters dress far les conservatively than their american counterparts. saenz tweeted this photo insisting jeans and a blouse are not inappropriate. >> i'm not trying to provoke anything, it is only my type of

dress. >> reporter: but her appearance sparked a national debate about what is and what is not appropriate in the workplace and the locker room. >> it's not the woman's fault for dressing that way, but if you dress a certain way, and it's provorkive and you're in an nfl dressing room, you're kind of asking for it at the same time. >> the woman is not in the wrong at all. no, i think she was harassed, it's disgusting the way they treated her. >> reporter: legal expert wendy murphy, a former nfl cheerleader says the law is very clear. >> if you think because of a woman's dress you have the right to sexually harass her, you're going to get in trouble with the law because she gets to decide whether your behavior is welcome not you. >> she tells me she was not offended by the jets' comments and she's going to leave it to the nfl to decide if anyone on the team should be punished. on tuesday, she tweeted, immersed in a media controversy

whirlwind. that controversy shows no signs of going away. >> here to talk more about the controversy is lifesty-- beginnh what the legal expert said at the end of the day, it really doesn't matter what this woman had on, or any woman, sexual harassment is sexual harassment. the reason so many people are talking about this is because of what she was wearing in those websites from both her network and her personal site. why is this igniting such a controversy? >> i think we have to look at how we present ourselves and it means something. aside from the legal issues, which are very real, sexual harassment is wrong and no one would condone it. but how we present ourselves does affect how people see us and i think it's something we need to pay close attention to.

>> if you dress provocatively you're going to elicit a specific response. we're strong women, if you go out there dressed in a certain way, you can expect a certain response. >> it's miss the boat a little bit if you don't look at the human nature behind this. men represent one end of the male spectrum and a woman represents one end of the female spectrum. we like to identify with this story. we like to think about what would it feel like to be a beauty pageant person who looks like this and walk into a locker room full of the most atlantic men, what would it be like to be a man who have a woman walk in like that. this is why it stirs up this large controversy. >> but people are being very critical of her and yet it's the men who are being investigated.

people are talking far less about those players than they are about her. >> i think the question is what the provocative dress in that field. but to your point, i think we live in an overly sexualized culture, look at the ads, look a many magazine covers, look at that website, this is how they're promotinpromoting -- >> she is being promoted as a sexual object. >> but that network is using those kind of pictures of her, they obviously have no problem with her image. she has no problem with her image. she's not apologizing for her outfit. is there cultural at all? >> i can't imagine that in a locker room, perhaps, but i can't imagine that in a locker room in her country, people would look at her aths and not have some sort of reaction.

>> if americans go to some cultures that are much more conservative or male dominated or so on, you have to some degree play by those rules so you need to know the rules of whatever culture you're moving into and in some degree we're reacting as americans about this story. >> another thing, meredith, for other folks, because as you point out, we are not the beauty queens, we are not that girl, many of us have children, have daughter who is want to know what is appropriate? i don't want my daughter dressing provocatively, i don't want her going to a male locker room at all. if its her job, anywhere that she might go, any girl, i would like for her to be professionally appropriate. >> i think women should know if they're feeling their sexuality, if they're going to in some ways use their sexuality, they have to be very aware of that. it's really all about, sensitivity training, i think

making everybody in this situation more aware that the hot box you're putting them in and what they're going to be thinking about. >> but that putting the onus on them again. >> the onus is on both of them of the awareness. she should know what she's saying when she goes in like that. >> she does know what she's saying and she has to take responsibility for that. >> the sad thing is they all shot themselves in the foot. that's the problem. the nfl players are going to pay for this. and she's going to pay for this and that's a shame because it didn't have to go like this. >> and her network is sticking by her, and she's been a journalist there for many years. >> but it didn't help her in that regard, it may help her in a different regard. maybe that's going to be okay with her. but it's the awareness of the drive going in and what might not be on your mind. >> but the reaction, the

personal responsibility for it, here's how i present myself and there will be a reaction, am i ready for it? i think that's a very important question for all of us to ask. >> and if it's an overreaction, then they better be ready for it. >> thank you so much for your perspective as always. >> up next, martha stewart with some new ways to use your cupcake pan right after this. ♪ friskies grillers blend. ♪ feed the senses.

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martha on "today" is brought to you by macy's. >> we're back at 8:21 this morning on martha on "today," we're cooking with your cupcake pan. it's also the perfect pan for muffins and savory tarts. this is featured in the september issue of everyday food. >> this is our little magazine that has about 50 amazing recipes that you can cook every single day of the month. >> you sit down and how many different recipes did you come up with and they just turned out disastrously. >> very few because we really think about this before we develop. we really sort of edit down ideas. it's called muffin to it. muffin tins come in six one-cup

holes or 12 one-cup holes. or they come in giant muffin tins. or just heavy duty metal. it's nicer to be a little bit heavy, the little thin ones might burn. >> you're going to do four different recipes. the first is pizzas. >> you just use a store bought or home made pizza dough, divide it into 126789 and then you stretch this like this and then you lay it into the muffin tin. >> all right, and from there -- >> you just build your pizza. >> we're using traditional toppings? instead of sauce you just regular tomatoes. >> you can put anything you like on top. >> i love pepper. >> matt was eati inin ining pep before he even came on. you bake it at 450 degrees for 12 minutes in a preheated oven.

>> can we get that shot back here? it looks like that. >> a nice little pizza. >> my mushrooms, i don't want to burn my mushrooms over here. >> what is this, bred over here. >> watch out easy this is. take your good quality white bread, it can be store bought or the best bread from the bakery. roll out the dough of the bread, cut with a cookie cutter. and then -- you're supposed to cut this in half. >> then we're going to take this? - >> it's better to cut it in half. >> any butter or anything on this before hand. >> a little tiny bit of melted butter, and just brush that on the bread and you can fill that baked out a little bit. at 375.

and then lay in precooked bacon. like this. and you just break your egg. >> thank you, i appreciate that. >> you put your egg right in the cup. >> and then it goes back in the oven? >> yep, salt and pepper. >> how long? >> just for about 20 minutes. >> upside down mushroom cutlets. >> you can have white button mushrooms, but they're very nice when they're sauteed in a little bit of butter. a little bit of cheese on each one. it makes a very nice good taste of mushrooms. but you can use mozzarella, cheddar, a little bit of fresh tine. -- thyme.

and look how it comes out. it's really pretty. >> now you can do this with cheese and mushrooms, but you can also do it with apples or pears or nectar reigns. >> and we're going to show this bel tiaudefussau good morning to you. 8:26 right now. i'm laura garcia cannon. mike taking us back to the bay bridge. >> a lot of folks are hanging out there, laura. you see the fast track lane showing good movement there. but the back-up does extend back to the maze. let me show you travel times. westbound coming off the bridge, a slow drive, speeds below 20 miles per hour in most spots. there you go, the top of the screen. bottom of the screen, 880 through oakland in the 30s there. and 580 also very slow. sonole, into the south bay. low clouds.

rob has your forecast. >> morning clouds will break up, at least for inland spots today. 78 in san jose, 80s inland toward the trivalley. 60 in san francisco. 07 in oakland. the seven-day forecast shows the same story for tomorrow. friday, a few extra clouds. showers in the north bay. it's saturday into sunday we'll see a chance of showers across the rest of the bay area with cooler temperatures for the weeken w mingar up early next week.

advantage topical solution treats dogs... ( barking ) but destroys fleas. so y ar te fo r advae,ag the flea specialist for gentle, but effective, flea control. this morning, police are investigating a deadly home invasion in san francisco. it happened at a home on 2010

pelu avenue. police in the bay view district say one of the people living there is dead after at least two robberies around midnight. police are trying to determine if this was random or targeted. police have detained two people for questioning. another local news update in about half an hour. the "today" show returns in less than a man. have a great wednesday morning.

8:30 now on this wednesday morning, the 15th of september, 2010. our lovely morning here in the heart of midtown manhattan and we have got a great crowd soaking it all in. nice to see you guys. just ahead, "today's" wedding couple together again, our groom just back from afghanistan, he and his wife have reunited last night for the first time after seven months. they're back together.

we're going to talk to them. we're going to review her wedding gown and the tux you all picked for them. >> that's great. we look forward to that. >> also, we're going to talk about the special bond between sisters. there's been a lot of research about this and she talks about how it can be sort of rewarding but also sort of trying, especially when it comes to competition in school and sports. exploring the unique bond of sisterhood. >> apparently sisters more than perhaps sisters and brothers or brothers and brothers, they talk. they really get in there and share things. >> there was a recent study that found that sisters are less likely to feel feelings of loneliness as they get older. and that's apparently one of the reasons. >> that's good stuff. jimmy schmidt -- sorry, i do. you can borrow mine. >> how about if we're all sisters.

what do you say? >> look at all these sisters behind you? >> she also could use a new car. that would be nice. jimmy schmidt is with us, he's got such a great resume. when it comes to the roles that he's brought to us all, he's back on nbc now in a new show, this one is called "outlaw" and he's going to be here in just a couple of minutes to tell us about it. >> talented, consistent, wonderful. >> he's a brooklyn boy. that's what counts, absolutely. stephanie abrams is filling in for al. she's going to fill news on the weather, if we can find her. >> here i am. we're celebrating an anniversary. but where is joey? i'm assuming at the bathroom. >> when nature calls, what are you going to do? hope you're taping it at home. >> i told him it would happen if he left. >> he's running, where is he? where is he? we'll get him on the other side of the weather. let's have a look at our forecast for you. for the the day today we're

going to see the thunderstorms in the center of the country, otherwise nice in the east, the southeast and the southwest. here is joey. welcome to the plaza. bagels.ht you brought food. you made up for it. this is what's happening outside your door. >> matt and meredith, back t matt and meredith, back to you at the other end of the plaza. >> it's a very special morning around here because we're just 15 days away from "today's" wedding. and finally here comes the groom. >> we weren't even sure this guy was real.

jeremy gephart was stationed in afghanistan and spent seven months there in the air force. he arrived back home. and the two of you got to see each other for the first time last night. jeremy and melissa, good morning to both of you. i don't know who to go to first. the mushy stuff. what was it like seeing each other, jeremy? nice to meet you. >> nice to meet you guys, too. it's always nerve-racking when you get ready to see one another, you get anxious, you can't sit still. you're ready to see her and get things going again. so i was standing at the airport waiting and there she comes down the staircase. >> that's nice. >> and you've been here doing all the heavy lifting while jeremy's been away. >> i have, yes. >> it must be nice to finally have him by your side at this point. >> yes, because we are getting married, not me. so, yeah, it's going to be great now that he's here and we can share all of this stuff together. >> do you like what you have seen so far? >> i haven't seen that much, but

so for it's beautiful. it's all happening so fast, it's just amazing to see everything come together. >> you're going to be married in a few weeks, you'll learn that you like everything, that's the correct answer now. it's the only answer. have you and the guys in afghanistan been kind of weighing in on any -- i know you haven't seen a lot of it but have you been weighing in, decide ed what you liked better than other things? >> everybody was voting on the rings. oh, i voted for you. it's just amazing to see all the soldiers and airmen voting and it's such a weird place and after that, i didn't see much after the ring because i was in transit. she was able to take care of everything here. >> yeah. >> she was this close to picking a lavender tux for you. this close. >> perfect. >> well, thank you. >> do you want to do the honors here? >> i think we need the reveal. >> i hate to do this to you so quickly after you got back. but you need to put this on.

>> this is for the gown. >> you can't see the wedding gown. >> melissa, are you ready to see what you're going to be wearing on your special day? >> yes. >> models, come on out. it is dress number three. and the tux is the kenneth cole black label. that dress is classic elegance. absolutely beautiful with the keyhole in the back. what do you think? >> i love it. i thought it was one that most looked like me and i think it's going to be perfect and i hope jeremy really likes it and i'm sure he will. >> we have to remind the audience, jeremy, you're going to be wearing one of your air force outfits. do you think you're going to transfer into the tux? >> yes, for the reception. >> and you're going to look great. >> i think so, too. you'll like it. >> any secret hand signals you just gave her? >> thits one.

>> and you're going to have the blindfold on for another two weeks. that's fun. >> at least i'm here. >> exactly. most importantly, welcome home. it's great to finally meet you. two weeks away until the big day. >> yes, i can't believe it. >> an awful lot happening in your young life in the last couple of weeks. melissa, very good to see you. we're going to come back and do more of this. >> and we're going to take a look at the bridesmaids's dresses and the options available to you. we'll vote on them. available to you. we'll vote on them. we'll be right back. sweet n' sour filled twizzlers. the twist you can't resist. not that long ago, many families were priced out of an overheated housing market. but the times have changed. get the facts at remax.com. it's a great place to see all the listings in thousands of cities and towns. with lots of houses to chose from

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"today's" wedding is brought to you by chevy, every model is backed by 100 sthourks mile, five-year power train warranty. >> we are back with more of our series modern love. melissa and jeremy are together again stateside, we just revealed what they will be

wearing on their big day. now we'll reveal what their bride's maids will be wearing. this is very exciting because the bride's maids dressings are going to be modeled by your real bride's maids. we have a lot of dresses here. the first category is called effortless romance. katelynn, come on out. katelynn is a high school friend of melissa and the little flower girl is ashley. >> she's wearing the romantic and the ruffle and the flower detail and then the flower girl, a matching lavender dress and really pretty bodice. coordinated with the bride's maid dress colors is a really fun way to go. >> very romantic and vereally, really pretty. up next, a modern twist, let's bring out alexis, who has known

melissa things they were kids. and your real flower girl for the wedding, abigail. now who is abby? >> abby is my little cousin. >> to make that strap into anything, it could be a halter, it could be a strapless. it can go 15 different ways. and then the flower girl dress, something also modern and the flowers on the bodice can be matched to the color of your bride's maid's dress. >> abigail, are you excited? >> yes. >> thank you, you both look absolutely beautiful. >> okay, we're going from a modern twist. remind t remi remind -- the next is fun and flirty.

this is your sorority sister along with flower girl merrill. this is a higher hem line, strapless and of course the flower girl dress is completely fun. she's going to be twirling all night long on the dance floor. >> a lot of brides are selecting dresses for the bridesmaids off the rack. >> when you have bridesmaids from all across the country, it's better to select them off the rack. >> and lastly, this is an old hollywood look, and another sorority sister coming out. >> this one, the old hollywood

glamour, it's a vintage dress all the way, with the hair and the lips are red, and the flower girl dress, this looks like a classic movie. >> and you can just paint it up with silk flowers. >> and the bridesmaid, that could be a halter top too, right? >> you can make it a halter top or even a one shoulder if you want to make it a little more modern. >>l let's get a last look at al of these dresses and the flower girls. i want to remind the audience to vote for your favorite dresses at todayshow.com or facebook.com/"today"show. we're going to check in on our

comments and you can also text in your votes to 622639. one for romance, 2 for modern test, 3 and 4. melissa and jeremy, can you follow me for a second, i want to show you something. you know that chevy, chevy is actually sponsoring this wedding series. >> okay. >> and this year they were just incredibly moved by you guys, by your story, your love for each other. you kind of get why i'm leading you here? take a look at this car, what do you think? >> it's beautiful. >> it's actually a chevy equinox fully loaded. when you get back home, you pick the color. so if you want the lavender that you can't get for yourself, you can get it in the car. we're very grateful to chevy for

doing it. >> that's a lot for you to handle in one day. oh, my gosh. >> woe will be back right after this. [ male announcer ] jerry brown's good old days.

but what really happened? cnn -- not me -- cnn says his assertion about his tax record was "just plain wrong." jerry brown went out there and took credit for the fact that the people of california voted for proposition 13, which lowered taxes, which he opposed. and now he's going around taking credit for it. he raised taxes as governor of california. he had a surplus when he took office and a deficit when he left. he doesn't tell the people the truth.

"today's" family is brought to you by quaker. back at 8:47 and this morning on "today's" family, the sisterhood gone. so we asked, the powers women to talk about growing up in a family of five sisters. >> our household was the krasiest, most noisy house that i was ever in. we didn't fight over a lot of

things, but we shared everything from a bed to toothbrushes and socks. we became known as the girls with the mismatched knee socks. the hardest part about having sisters at an early age was just trying to find your own space. we are vying for our mother's attention. >> growing up we all realized what the order was, we knew who was in charge and it was all ann. >> we all adored the baby. >> in my opinion, i was sort of the one that they had to be with, but they didn't really want to be with, although they tell it differently now. i was the one that was relegated to the bathroom when we played house and nobody would come to visit me. >> while very different, we're similar in a lot of ways, but we all understand what makes the other one different and so we know how to respond when there's an issue or a problem. >> everybody shares everybody's

news, it might filter through the phone lines a little bit, you only want someone to know about your secret for a little while but it eventually gets out to the other four. >> my sisters are the thing i'm really the most proud of and i know that it's something that other people envy and every day i'm really thankful to have them in my life. >> her new book is called "you were always mom's favorite" sisters in conversation throughout their lives. children who have sisters were less likely than those without sisters to experience feelings of loneliness, being in love, guilt or also fear. this is backed up by your research. >> it seems to be about talk, sisters who have sisters and brothers, they send to talk to the sisters more and they talk at greater length. and that's what studies show

throughout life. >> nevertheless, we hear from so many sisters the talk about competition and it's really difficult sometimes for sisters not to feel competitive. what is your best advice based on all your research about that. >> one said, you know, i talked to mom twice yesterday and the other one said, well, i talked to her once but we had a better conversation. i think the competition is always there. but you can be good humored about it. the competition is really created by the same aspects of the relationship. so give you another example, another woman who has lost a lot of weight and everyone said how great she looked and her sister told her, you know, you're losing too much weight, your collarbones stick out. it's sister speak, maybe she's the only one telling the truth when no one else would. and maybe there's an element of competition. >> some are mothers and some of them have more than one daughter

and so what responsibility, what advice would you give to others based on all your research to sort of encourage a good relationship, a strong sisterhood bond if in fact this research is saying that it can be so useful as they grow up to make them happier people? >> fighting with kids does not mean you're not going to be close growing up. but the kids are always vying for attention, so if you can have attention to each individual child, that can be a good thing. it can be very tempting to make the oldest sister into almost another mother and the oldest one, there's often more photographs of her, younger ones can tell you that. and i think if you can just try to avoid that as much as possible then the older one doesn't later feel resentment, you can't tell me what to do, you're not my mother. >>

returning to the small screen on nbc's new drama, it's called outlaw. the supreme court justice who quits the bench to return to private practice. take a look. >> you broke the law. >> if there was misconduct, the defense had 11 years to find out. it doesn't mean we get to change the rules to get a new trial.

>> cut the cards. the ace of spades. >> following the rules. doesn't always lead to justice. >> how do you do that? nice to see you. this isn't your first rodeoers you have done a lot of tv. >> been around the block. >> you don't need to pad your resume. why did you want to do this? >> basically character driven stuff. the guy's got a lot of chinks in the armor. and the story is because he was on one of the highest courts and turns his back on everything to start practicing again t cases that he deals with are substantive. >> people are turning in to see former supreme court justice, he's got a gambling problem. >> he's got a few things

happening. he comes to the courtroom certainly with a certain p certainly -- >> like on this show, the scams. >> in the book it means that you're in on the ground floor in terms of what's going is to be out there. >> all the good and the bad too. >> you had a big night in washington last night. you handed out awards last night. give us a brief rundown. >> it's a scholarship foundation for kids who are interested in the arts. >> and we wanted more importantly than anything else. >> mom's 80th birthday. >> and she's where watching this right now? >> she's in brooklyn. >> great having you, you can

catch the premier of outlaw tonight at and good wednesday morning to you. 8:56 right now, i'm laura garcia cannon. mike taking us to the south bay. >> yes, general slowing in the northbound direction. tuesday is typically the heaviest volume of traffic. typical slowing through men low

park, toward highway 84. big jams for the east bay. again, not a big surprise. but pretty slow. slower than we might expect 880 out of san leandro, and down the east shore freeway, still jammed off the bridge down to berkeley and emeryville. more newr this.

one transit agency is asking for your help to make sure if major service change is going smoothly. the transit recently removed some of its routes and stops. they say the process was really complicated and some of the signs may have been missed, so they're asking riders to report anything from signs in wrong places or wrong route information to damaged schedules. brett will have another local

news update for you in about 30 minutes or so. "today" show returns in about a minute. hope you have a great wednesday morning. barbara boxer. she fought to get our veterans the first full combat carecalifornia. her after school law's keeping a million kids off the street and out of gangs. and she's fighting every day to create new jobs. boxer: i'm working to make california the leader in clean energy, to jump-start our small businesses with tax credits and loans, to create thousands more california jobs. i'm barbara boxer and i approve this message because i want to see the words "made in america" again.

we're back now we're back now with more of "today" on a wednesday morning. it's the 15th day of september, 2010. and it's just a stunning day here in the northeast. we've got a crystal blue sky, not a cloud in it. there's some nice people on the plaza, a great combination, and also out on the plaza, i'm matt lauer, along with natalee morales. coming up, our 911 money people are back, and we've got a lot of questions to answer. this morning we're going to tackle things like what do you do if the interest rate on your credit card is rising. a lot of people dealing with that right now. how should you handle it? and also how much debt is too much debt when it comes to your

student loans? we'll get some answers to your questions coming up. >> perfect segue to another segment we have coming up, your finances, can be make or break for a lot of marriages. if you're not on the same page when it comes to saving and spending, your marriage could be heading down the wrong track. advice on how you can both start speaking in the same financial language. they actually have financial therapists now to help couples along. also coming up, the stars of style from the always edgy rihanna to the always classic jennifer aniston. we're going to talk about the best and worst dressed list. and our own beautiful ann curry, hot at every age. to be chic at every age. you take the prize, we know that. >> i had no idea. >> and i don't think they should have put you in the hottie category. they should have put you in the 30s category. ann's got the headlines. let's tell you all about

news now because today is the first full day of freedom in more than a year for american hiker sarah shourd. late on tuesday she arrived in oman after spending 13 months in an iranian prison and greeted by her mother. two other american hikers, shane bauer and josh fattal are still in iran. their mothers had this message for iran. >> please, please release josh and shane. now we can just say josh and shane, sarah is home, but president ahmadinejad is coming to the united states for the u.n. general assembly. we welcomed him to the united states. again, as we asked last year, but this year with even more you are general urgency, we say pleg josh fattal and shane bauer home to the united states and to us,

their mothers. >> their mothers also said they're anxious to speak with sarah shourd for any information they can give them. christine o'donnell stunned mike castle. in new york city, congressman charlie rangel won his primary despite ethics charges. and washington, d.c., voters ousted the mayor, choosing vincent gray instead. secretary clinton hillary rodham clinton says israel and the palestinians are, quote, getting into key issues. in the latest round of peace talks there. police in afghanistan used live ammunition to break us protests against america. the protests are a lingering reaction to a florida pastor's plan to burn the koran, even though he has called that off. and imagine the reaction for one of 33 miners trapped deep underground in chile for the last 40 days when on tuesday, his wife gave birth to a girl named hope in a nearby hospital. the miner will be able to see images of his daughter, but he won't be able to hold her, of course, until he is rescued

still set for some months from now. it is now three minutes past. let's go back outside to matt a and natalie. >> great story, thank you, ann. >> ann, thank you very much. stephanie abrams filling in for al. >> your son just finished an iron man. give us the mileage on iron man. >> it's 2.4 miles of a swim, 112 miles on a bike. >> you're an iron man mom, right? >> i am! i was running from place to place trying to see him. >> great weather for that iron man. let's have a look at what's happening in the atlantic. we do have hurricane igor, a category 4. it does look like it could impact bermuda directly. for us it will just bring basically some swells and also some rip current here. otherwise if you're about to head out the the door there is threat for severe weather in the center of the country. otherwise it's simply gorgeous if you're training from an iran man from

the morning is starting out with low clouds and misty skies, but it's the weekend we're going to start to see changes with clouds spilling off to the north today, and dropping into friday and saturday. around the bay area today, we see temperatures in the upper 70s. later on in the afternoon, around san jose, look at the 80s popping up inland. same forecast more or less will hold for tomorrow. then friday, more clouds, a bit cooler, and the weekend, some scattered showers, especially late saturday into sunday. >> ann, over to you. this morning on "today's" money 911, we're helping your finances with our experts and they are jean kas sky, and the more of money 9/-- and the auth

finish rich. good morning to all of you, we have already got a question out there, jane from st. louis, missouri. jane, what's you question, good morning? >> hi, my husband has co-signed college loans for my daughter about $50,000 and i am wondering what does that do to our credit score and our credit rating and what can we do to make sure it's good? >> jane, it doesn't necessarily help your credit rating, i'm sure that you're not surprised to hear that, it affects the amount of debt that you have outstanding, it ounts in your total debt. so the most important thing for you to do is to make sure that those bills are paid on time. and if you don't trust your daughter to pay them on time, have her pay you and you pay the bills and that way you'll know that your credit is protected. we warn people all the time about signing as a co-signer, you don't want to do it if you don't have to do it. >> you have to do as much

research as your daughter does on how to consolidate that debt and what lender to go to. >> and we have sarah on the line from michigan. and sarah has a question about credit card debt. >> i have about $40,000 worth of credit card debt that i have been trying to pay off for several years. the problem is that my credit card interest rate keeps being raised. i pay more than the amount due and i all the credit card company and they always say they can't do anything and to call back again in a couple of months. i tried to do a balance transfer, but i always get denied. i'm running out of ideas and i would love tom advice. >> sarah, which credit card company is it? let's put them on the spot. >> i'm with capital one. >> capital one lower your interest it rates.

if you make money mum payments now because of the new law tells you how many years it's going to take to get out of debt. $4,500, you make minimum payments it's going to take you 25 years to get out of dead. with an extra $10 a day added to that debt. so if you can look at any ways in which you're spending $5 to $10. >> but she's saying she has paid a little more and she's also saying they keep raising -- >> the minimum payment has been reduced to a point where you'll basically never get out of debt. it's about 2%, 2.5% of the overall debt. they have designed it so you never get out of debt. it's got to be double the minimum payment. >> if you can qualify for another card, forget about the balance transfer. shut that card down and they should take your interest rate at that point if you use the word hardship to 6%.

so she secures another car first, then you tell them shut that card down, they should give her five years to pay it off and they'll reduce the interest rate. >> i want to say something that's important, she's young so she may not want to go into a hardship program. but in your case, $4,500 in credit card debt, she's young, she probably can get out of this debt in less than a year, literally cutting out the la lattes, having one less drink. >> there's also the issue of why is she being denied the balance transfer for other cards and other debt. make sure you're looking at your other finances. there may some other issues you

need to look at in terms of your overall debt usage. >> going into debt advice.org, trying to find a nonprofit credit counselor to help you through that. it's not a lot of money to some keep, it's a lot of money for her. >> what's that website again? >> debtadvice.org. >> her question is i will begin my full-time doctoral program this fall. i have a 6,900 debt from my masters. i am looking at $100,000 in student loan debt. exactly what do you consider an acceptable set for a doctorate. >> first of all i want to dmend leslie on getting her ph.d. when you get out of school, the a lot

of debt that you have, you want to be making more money than that. she's talking about over $100,000 that she's going to be in debt. is she going to make that. >> there is no guarantee about that. >> there is no guarantee, so what you need to do is look at for gradual school, fast web.com is a good site to look for that. but also know that the median hardship or debt that people have for a mvd is $9,000. that's ten times the average. so she also needs to look at other tax breaks she can get. don't forget about the lifetime learning credit. that's $2,000. >> this is from dot in pennsylvania, my daughter is currently trying to get custody did of her 4-year-old son. she has been working two jobs and cannot afford proper legal representation. she and i have gone through all

our savings. my daughter does not qualify for financial debt because she has two jobs but every penny is used up by her laura. >> it's so difficult you want to go through legal aid, you want to go through the legal aid society in your community, go through the bar association for referrals of people who might be able to help you at a lower cost. >> thank you so much all three this morning. and coming up on "today's" wedding, we just picked the wedding dress. now we're going to show you what other modern drive should be carrying in her purse. but also coming up next. celebrity fashions in "people" magazine. right after this.

"today's" wedding together at last. will the bridesmaids wear? "today's" wedding sponsored by chevy. so, today, i've noticed a significant difference in my breathing. and i'm doing more of what i want to do. so we're clear -- it doesn't replace a rescue inhaler for sudden symptoms. my doctor said symbicort is for copd, including chronic bronchitis and emphysema. it should not be taken more than twice a day. symbicort may increase your risk of lung infections, osteoporosis, and some eye problems. tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high blood pressure before taking it. my copd often meant i had to wait to do what i wanted to do. now i take symbicort, and it's significantly improves my lung function, starting within five minutes. symbicort has made a significant difference in my breathing. now more of my want-tos are can-dos. as your doctor about symbicort today.

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go online, enter the code from your light & fit lid, and we'll make a 10 cent donation. give hope with every cup of light & fit. in order to be a style star in hollywood you have got to take only historics. sometimes they're a little bit flat, but always keeping score, "people" magazine is out with its best and worst dressed issue. people's style and beauty editor, good morning. i know this is not just a one red carpet deal. >> oh, no. >> for a lot of these celebs. this is a process that you all take very seriously over a year long, right. >> from september to september. >> this is what we do at "people" magazine, we cover celebrities, and the fashion ins and outs that's not excluded. >> and it's not just the red

carpet, it's the full blown fashion sense. jennifer anniston, obviously a gorgeous woman, can't go wrong, it seems, with style. >> she's really great with silhouettes and shows off that wonderful, toned body. she's good at that, she doesn't turn to a lot of color. she has great legs, great abs, we love that about her. >> it's acceptable and people want to look like her, it's great. >> next is kate middleton, and you call her the princess in waiting. >> even though she's 28, you just love that pinache, and that lady like feel that she brings. >> she loves to wear these head dresses that are delicate and they have little feathers and beads and they're fun and fresh. >> seems like she's already stepped into that role. >> that's the key.

>> and zoey saldona, you call her the red carpet queen. >> we love the variety and the chances that she takes on the red carpet. people loved it and hated it. i actually loved it. it's fantastic. >> and a new by on the list, lana michelle. >> she's quite the it girl, and the vibrant colors that she chooses reflects her vibrant personality. >> next rihanna, you call the daring diva and she's ended up on both lists, best and worst dressed. so when you take those risks, there's sometimes going to be a little bit of a penalty. >> but we love that she mixes the edgy and the feminine and sometimes like you said, when you dare, you can go there sometimes, it might be a little

bit off, but we appreciate that about her. >> sharon stone and snooki, hard to believe the two could be on the same list. sharon stone, she made a black gap t-shirt just a classic that one year. but this was just a one-time award. >> sharon, everyone has a snag, like i said, every now and then, snooki, she loves to try to the trends, and we're going to let you assess for yourself. and she likes the spotlight, so she knows what's working for her, i guess. okay, lady gaga, a little surprising didn't make either of the lists. "people" magazine says she's a little middle of the road. >> we have one page dedicated to her. because you cannot ignore her, people want to see what she's wearing as much as they want to hear that voice. so we have a page that takes in all of that glory. >> lady gaga. >> i still can't get over that, it's disgustings.

again, you got to check out the list, people's best and worst dressed issue hits the stands on friday. coming up, making sense of your dollars and cents, we're going to tell you buy it's important for ces speak the same financial language. but first, these messages. a great day to save. oh, it's not just today. with our free loyalty program, you earn great stuff like accident forgiveness and bigger discounts just by staying with us. oh! ooh! so, what you're saying is, it gets even better with age. oh! tell me we're still talking about insurance. rewarding loyalty. now, that's progressive. call or click today.

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so i need to be driving around from place to place. for the initial down payment, i'm six months out from when i get to go in and buy the corolla and get the keys. [ male announcer ] share your toyota story on facebook.com/toyota. "today" is the international day of democracy and we are happy to welcome the six winners of the democracy challenge. >> and they hail from all over the world. >> these are deal makers who are asked what democracy means to them. and they won the votes of hundreds of thousands of people online. before we get to you, i want to let everybody introduce themselves. >> joel. >> i'm from nay paul. >> i'm from iran. >> i'm from columbia.

>> okay, great, so we have introduced everyone. and who was the criteria in how you chose these winners? >> what we asked for is really to provide a platform for them to speak to what they believe democracy is. and from that there were regional winners, and then we allowed obviously the public to decide which ones they felt were -- >> all are very different points of view from different parts of the world. democracy means something different to everyone. >> what did they win, exactly. >> well, they won this, coming to meet you. and they spent a day at educational especially tugss learning a little bit more about film making. they'll be leaving for los angeles on saturday. so, you know, really they'll meet with a lot of different people from the academic world to the film world to really try to continue to develop their

techniques. >> really quickly, how can we see the videos really quickly? >> youtube.com, democracy challenge. >> all right, thank you, dawn. . >> congratulations, everybody. but sometimes after a busy day and a heavy greasy dinner... my system needs some tlc. now there is something new. introducing activia dessert. rich, silky, smooth yogurt with desserty flavors like strawberry cheesecake, blueberry cheesecake, and peach cobbler. and because it's activia, it helps regulate my digestive system. mmm. works for me. ♪ activia new activia dessert. [ girls ] good. ♪ ♪ thank you! ♪

phew! [ ernie ] we make our cookies the way only keebler elves can: with a little something extra. so every bite can be uncommonly good. and good morning, everybody. time now is 9:26. i'm brent cannon, checking in with mike, the latest on your morning commute and taking a look in the east bay. >> that's right, the east shore freeway still one of your slower spots. the rest of the freeways looking better now. your travel time, 35 minutes off the bridge. the slow down in the back up starts around hercules as you're passing highway 4. speeds in the 40s from the most part through richmond and berkeley. we have a slow drive still through antioch. speeds in the 30s and 40s there. livermore, debris around 1st, but no major slowing. reports of a small fire and of one of those windmills. we'll follow that, and rob has

your forecast. >> morning clouds eventually breakup, at least for inland spots. 70 in san jose, 80s inland, 65, san francisco. 70 in oakland. the seven-day forecast shows the same story for tomorrow. friday, a few extra clouds. showers in the far north bay. saturday and sunday, we see a chance of showers across the rest of the bay area with cooler temperatures for the weekend warming up early next week.

in the moments after the san bruno explosion, there was chaos and confusing. there were recordings that give a sense of how confusing it was for emergency crews on the ground. the heat was so intense and thein ferno so massive, it took nearly half an hour for first responders to realize that it was not a plane crash. >> this is an aircraft down, it appears there is some sort of natural gas explosion. >> for a time, firefighters didn't have any way to fight the fire. >> i think we've got a broken water main down here, so they need to lay in from the corner

of san bruno avenue. >> and right now in washington, lawmakers are asking experts about the explosion. this is a live feed that you can also find on our website. walnut creek is holding the hearing. more updates on nbc bay area.com. and as i mentioned, streaming live. you can watch it. more local news in a half hour, and the "today" show returns in less than a minute. have is a great morning. see you back here in a bit. as governor, he cut waste got rid of the mansion and the limo budgets were balanced. $4 billion in tax cuts. world class schools and universities. clean energy promoted. 1.9 million new jobs created. california was working. i'm jerry brown. california needs major changes. we have to live within our means; we have to return power

and decision making to the local level-closer to the people and no new taxes without voter approval. jerry brown the knowledge and know-how to get california working again. i did want to say one thing, you're here "today" so i could personally tell you that you're going to die in federal prison. tell all your friends. >> that's actor john hamm taking a star turn in the new ben affleck thriller. you may know him as don draper. he's all the talk of hollywood right now. he'll be coming by tomorrow here on "today" to chat it up with us. that will be fun. >> i'm a huge fan of matt. >> it really seems to be the show of our time. meantime coming up this morning, money and marriage. >> money matters are not all

about dollars and cents, they can also be about control, independence or trust and can definitely put a strain on a marriage. so we'll have some advice on how to speak the same financial language when it comes to saving, spending and paying your bills. >> "today's" bride melissa now knows what she will be wearing down the aisle thanks to you our viewers. but what will she be carrying in her purse? i don't know you carried a purse on your big day. but what will all brides be benefited by in case they need a fast fix. we'll have next what they should have in their bag. >> and if you're one of those women who have been in about 16 weddings and have a pile of those bridesmaid's dresses crowding your closet that you never think you're going to wear again. >> we'll tell you some ideas from modern lamp shades to a

pillow. "today's" kitchen, we have a simple one skillet supper. pork chops with apples and spice sweet potatoes. it's made for men especially in mind. >> pork chops and applesauce, remember that? >> playing games with the family. >> the whole family, they came together, i'm blanking. i'll do it after the weather. i'll think of it. let's do the weather here. severe weather throughhrough th center of the country, otherwise things are looking good here along i-95 and the south.

>> coming up this morning, advice to keep you from fighting over your finances. important advice after your local news. ♪ happy birthday to you. ♪ happy birthday to you. ♪ happy birthday, happy birthday... ...happy birthday to you. ♪ here's to a world with more birthdays.

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some great advice. good morning to you, michelle. obviously money can be the cause of many problems, a lot more than just dollars and cents, it's a much more emotional issue for couples. >> people have a lot of feelings rooted in their emotions about money and it really does connect to their feelings about love, control and interest in their partner. it has a huge impact on whether your marriage will be successful or not. >> let's get to your tips right away. get on the same page when it comes to money. how do you do that when you can come from two opposite ends of the spectrum. >> you've got to pull everything out and talk about it. we want to look at all those bills, we want to look at all those bank statements, talk about your financial goals and talk about what your debt is and how you plan to get out of it. that's about getting everything out on the table and making a plan together. >> a lot of times women or even men, sometimes we hand it off to the one person in the relationship, is it important to be equal as partners in that?

>> it's important to speak up. there may be one person who does most of it, but you do need to have those regular conversations so both partners are sfully aware of what's going on. when you put cash in your hands, you say this is my budget for the week, this is how much i'm allowed to spend, and when it's gone, it's gone. when you talk about what to eat, drink or read, it's about $5. >> it's all important, the next thing you say is to set ground rules, perhaps even to set up separate accounts sometimes in a relationship. >> some people want to spend money on different things, and some people can manage their money more easily if they put their money in separate accounts and they also have a joint account. what kinds of things are we going to use a joint account for. what's an agreed upon purchase. we'll talk about it before

spending a certain amount. >> next you say talking about your past and sometimes you don't want to dredge up past mistakes which a lot of people do in relationships, but really important to go back and review what you did wrong and to correct your mistakes. >> talk about what happened in your family growing up because we do have all these emotional feels and our parents talked about money a certain way and we learn from that and build upon that. you have to decide, do you want to do what they did or do you want to make a new route? >> always in process, regulate, set up check in meetings, so check in with each other often. >> i would say at least once a month, hopefully every week, talk your goals, talk about whether you're getting things done. one person shouldn't know everything and one person be clueless. >> you also suggest times reversing roles with your partners, especially when you're fighting about money. how does that help? >> it's a light hearted way of

saying let's role play a little bit, i'll be you and you be me and you start of see what that other person looks like. >> you're not getting that big screen tv. >> are you kidding me? you're umpteen thousands of dollars in debt. >> it helps you understand where you're each coming from. >> yes. >> great advice as always. coming up next, what every bride should have in her bag on her big day. [ male announcer ] with its 43 safety features, like the parkview rear back-up camera... hi, sweetie. there you are. [ male announcer ] ...electronic vehicle information center, and rear cross path detection system, now available in the safety tech package, the chrysler town & country is a safe bet to make. ♪

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"today's" wedding is brought to you by chevy. every model is backed by a 100,000 mile five-year power train warranty. what should every bride have in her purse? here's the wedding day must haves and she's joined by our "today" show bride-to-be. good morning to both of you. looking at some of these ideas, some of these ideas are good for women just on a night out, for a lot of reasons not just for getting married.

>> these are things personally i have always in my purse. they're all good fixes, quick fixes and sometimes good things come in small packages. >> your first suggestion. >> you don't want to be sick on your honeymoon. it's an anti-bacterial moisturizer that lasts for four hours, you can shake all the hands you want, you don't have to worry about catching a cold or something. >> it's not offensive. moving on then to makeup, there are lots of sort of issues whether you're getting married or whether you're going to a party. what do you suggest that's not going to be too big to put in your purse? >> these are all really teeny things. this is from hourglass cosmetics, the packaging is really cool. it's flat, even if you don't

have room for this in your purse, you can put it in your back pocket. you can sit on it and you won't even know. we're seeing a lot more lipstick than lip gloss. you can even apply this without a mirror, it's perfectly shaped so it's going to fit your lip perfectly. it's great colors and it's just absolutely beautiful. >> blushers. >> this is from my couture, they're little papers, put a few of these in your bag, so when you touch up, you can get a little gloss. >> and the concealer, if the makeup does go a little awry. it give you an air brushed finish. >> now for a very long party, say for example you're really concerned about your hair or something else that may go askew, you have something even

more surprising. >> these are little staff fixes. these are dab or dot. this is a deodorant dot. you can dab it on, it on sashes right through the skin, or your hair is falling a little flat. so if you a friend, one of your bridesmaids, if you have a bridesmaid, you'll have a signal, she'll go into the bathroom and plug it in. you go into the bathroom and get it done. >> so you can just take a little container that you can just put on your -- so you can have that if you want to smell good. >> or you can have the deodorant, whatever. >> what i would do when i travel, i'll rip these out, fare them up into little pieces, you have individual fragrances, you keep an eye out, if there's a

scent you like, rip all the ads out in the magazines. >> i'm getting an idea. >> and it costs you nothing. >> disasters, which melissa, we'll make sure you don't have. we'll have a whole team that will help you with that. for those of you who don't have a whole team. >> it's like beauty insurance policies. of course everybody loves these. it's great to have. i find that often i'm obsessed with them. they're eye makeup remover swabs. designer band-aids, if you have a boo boo, i love it. here's one that looks like a diamond. kind of fun. and these are the classic, here's a miniemergency kits. minibreath spray, little chap stick, so you can take these and divide them up amongst your bridesma

bridesmaids. open this up and you can share. >> melissa, we're so excited. >> thank you so much. we' >> we're going to just keep throwing ideas at you. >> this is "today" on nbc.

barbara boxer. she fought to get our veterans the first full combat carecalifornia. her after school law's keeping a million kids off the street and out of gangs. and she's fighting every day to create new jobs. boxer: i'm working to make california the leader in clean energy, to jump-start our small businesses with tax credits and loans, to create thousands more california jobs. i'm barbara boxer and i approve this message because i want to see the words "made in america" again.

twizzlers. the twist you can't resist. ♪ now is the time to sing for your supper ♪ this morning in "today's" kitchen, a simple one skillet supper to save you time in the kitchen. the author of mad hungry, feeding men and boys and she's also the host of mad hungry on the hallmark channel. good morning. >> good morning. >> it's not just for boys, by the way. >> no, it's for everyone. >> no, we're mad for everyone. >> what do we mean by mad hungry. >> it's the extreme, it's the

vernacular of the boys in my house. stand in front of the refrigerator and say i'm mad hungry and one day my husband said that's the name of your book. it's based off the book mad hungry. it's about getting delicious food on the table. one skillet. making them want to really be there and eat with you. >> and i love the smell of pork chop in the morning, how can you go wrong in a house full of boys. >> this is the first dish that my son learned on his own and he makes it all the time. we brown the pork chops, trimmed them up. salt and pepper, trim it up. a little bit of butter. because everything's bert with butter. and swirl it around the pan and this is the main flavoring and natalee, it just doesn't get easier than this. and apple. it's the time of year for apple. and if you love pears, go ahead

and use pears and this is pretty much of the five ingredieningre we're almost finished. >> so you cook this around, you cook this maybe about five or six minutes. and you come over here and this is how beautiful they look. >> it looks like fall. >> it looks like fall. and here where the boy part comes in you could use wine, you could use cider, but he loves beer. >> when did your son perfect this? i hope he was over 21. >> this was all he had in the refrigerator. these pork chops get right in there. these have superthick, and you can bring those apples and you can put them on top. i might cover it a little bit, but if it's a little thinner, these will cook in about 20 minutes, max, if you're into instant read thermometers.

don't cook the heck out of it. >> i like mine well done. >> do what you want. >> this is cooking away. >> but you've got something really good to do along with the dinner back there. these are the spiced sweet potatoes. >> i love sweet potatoes. they're like the vegetable of health. we have a little bit of cayenne pepper. salt and cumin. you always come in when there's food in the house. >> this is not olive oil, right. >> no this is just a little bit of vegetable oil. we're just tossing it around. these aren't fried. but you bake them. >> when i told my children french fries were until they were old enough to learn. >> i wish my kids knew that that was the case. >> i you put a little spicy like this, put it in the oven at3 at.

>> "today's" wedding, melissa and jeremy together at last. the perfect couple in the dress and tux you chose. what will the bridesmaids wear? by 1:00 p.m. tuesday. "today's" wedding sponsored by chevy. [ female announcer ] at the jcpenney appreciation sale

save an extra 15% on all regular, sale, and clearance items. everything! no exclusions! plus if you use your jcpenney card, it's not an extra 15%, it's an extra 20% off. go to jcp.com to see everything on sale. jcpenney. good morning, everybody. time now is 9:56. i'm brent cannon, checking in with mike.

something unusual on the amount al at the mont pass. >> one of the wind mills on fire. i don't think you can see it from 580. it's a good distance north of there, but you might see something. no major slowing or problem for the traffic so far. but we're following this in the newsro newsroom, because we're worried about brush fire. low clouds breaking up and rob has your forecast. >> morning clouds eventually break up, at least for inland spots today. 78 degrees in san jose, 80s toward the trivalley, 65 san francisco. seven-day forecast shows same story for tomorrow. friday, a few extra clouds. showers in the north bay. saturday into sunday we see a chance of showers across the rest of the bay area. but cooler temperatures for the weekend, warming up early next week. new this morning, san francisco mayor gavin newsom says he will veto a new alcohol tax approved by city

supervisors. supporters say the fee will raise the price of a drink 3 to 5 cents and only applies to wholesalers. it amounts to 35 cents per gallon of beer, $1 per gallon of wine and $3.20 per gallon of hard liquor. bar and restaurant owners say the fee is passed on to them and hurts business. area moms are rallying for their nannies. 4,000 moms in san francisco are trying to get exemptions for residential parking rules for chair child care givers. many nannies are forced to move their cars every couple hours or they end up blacking up hundreds of dollars in fines. moms want special permits. city leaders will look into the proposal sometime next month. more local news in a half hour and the "today" show returns in about a minute. have a great morning. see you back in a bit. [ male announcer ] jerry brown's good old days.

but what really happened? cnn -- not me -- cnn says his assertion about his tax record was "just plain wrong." jerry brown went out there and took credit for the fact that the people of california voted for proposition 13, which lowered taxes, which he opposed. and now he's going around taking credit for it. he raised taxes as governor of california. he had a surplus when he took office and a deficit when he left. he doesn't tell the people the truth.

and captions paid for byt. nbc-universal television from nbc news, this is "today" with kathie lee gifford and hoda kotb. live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. guess what? you made it half through the week. it's wine day. the 15th of september, and we're going to prove it to you. >> in a little bit we will. >> how was your day yesterday? >> my day was good yesterday. as promised i went to neri's between first and second avenue to help celebrate our friend's 80 birthday. frank joined me over there. there i am with jimmy.

jimmy, we used to have an apartment in that block, so it was our kitchen, you know. jimmy emigrated here from ireland years ago, and his whole family is here. there's frank, and then later that night, hoda, that's when the party really began. >> you stayed that late? >> no, we went home. the mayor showed up, the archbishop showed up, everybody showed up. and he said please tell hoda that you were going to come and you didn't. we sent you a little cap. he's on his way to ireland today to celebrate with his family in ireland. honestly, if you want the best home cooking of all of new york city come to neari's. the nicest people you'll have the pleasure of having lunch and dinner with. >> while you were there you were missed at another event. dennis basso had a fashion show. he's a big fashion designer. he's a piece of work. that's a picture of dennis in

the middle, carol alt is on the other side and in the green from yesterday that's me. >> i hey every time i see carol alt walk in. you look darn good there, but standing next to carol, nobody should have to stand next to carol. you hold your own. >> amy rosenbloom came and yes, sir ka miller. here's the funny part about this whole fashion show. the whole things takes five minutes. >> they work for six months and it's over. >> second model walks out and everything is short, by the way. short skirt. le little -- >> this is for spring, remember. >> she walks out and her top starts inching down and everybody is a little uncomfortable. oh, my gosh. she's doing the walk. when she's halfway through her top is completely down. she's topless and she's looking dead aheld like oh, my god. she has the dead freak out look.

i guess you're not supposed to touch anything. she walked the runway topless. >> proud and perky. >> dennis -- >> thank goodness it wasn't modeling. somebody would have said, you dropped something. you dropped a couple of things. >> dennis missed you. he really does -- he's so cool. >> he's a nice, nice guy. fashion week is very successful this year. >> it's fun. everyone likes it over there now. >> big news. it was on the earlier hours on the "today" show. the fda finally has approved two medical procedures to get rid of fat. one of nthem is a laser called zerona. the way nancy snyderman describes it, it zaps the fat cells. it's like squeezing a grape. the fat cells go into bloodstream and shoot out of your body. >> in two weeks you see results.

>> there's before and after pictures which i found pretty surprising. you can see the difference. they had a woman's stomach -- that was -- this is the laser. >> this is the laser. >> it's not for weight loss. it's for sculpting. they say if you're really overweight and it doesn't work -- >> three times a week for two weeks. you know what? per session. you need three sessions. so it's pricey. does the fat come back? >> i don't know if it comes back. usually with lipo if you take it out somewhere, it pops up somewhere else. i think you can gain weight back, but i don't think it shifts and moves. i want to know about the cellulite question. >> i'm going to see dr. wexler and i'll ask her that question. >> do we have the before and after of freezing the fat. >> i was walking around in my little shorts. wow. is that a woman or man.

if you have problem areas you can't get rid of. >> there i am. >> i've got the ice packs all over those shorts. louie is going i've seen it all now. it keems your wine nicely chilled while you're walking around. >> speaking of chilled, we're both kind of sick of this. if you live in any city, you walk around and it's a beautiful day out, nice and warm. you open the door to the mall, to the grocery store -- >> it's an ant arctic blast. >> someone did an article in the new yo"new york times" where yo like you need a coat to go into buildings. >> a couple was visiting from spain who never came to new york before, and they were warned no matter how hot it is outside expect to be freezing anywhere you go inside. >> i think they do that in corporate buildings because men wear suits and men are always

hot. i think that they adjust the temperature to those guys. >> look at our crew. it's freezing here. >> usually these guys are in the snuggies, but that would look stupid. >> that would look weird. we have to keep it kind of cold for equipment, but it's ridiculous. >> what about us? >> i know. upstairs again. >> any do once in a while throw us a bone, but first we have to go to our friend. now it's time. >> now a moment with mel. >> you're going to say a picture of our friend, mel gibson, who apparently was trying to remain incognito in santa monica. >> what did he have? a fake mustache? >> here's the picture caught by the paparazzi in the daily news. it's a tape of him. we're not a lowelled to use it. >> that's a terrible picture. >> it's not a great picture.

>> nobody wants that picture. >> here's mel incognito. apparently the paparazzi guy started to scream at him asking mel fe really hit a girl and it was not pretty. we'd love to show it to you, but we'd have to pay for it. use your imagination. but -- >> and that was a moment with mel. >> we're trying to finesse that. >> we're doing a segment on brides maids dresses, because we have the wedding which is very festive. wif jill martin. she has a bridesmaid dress on. >> this is a special dress because it's so cold in here, but i thought may be used be interested in this dress i'm modeling today? >> no. did i get married in that the first time? >> no, no. >> here's the story. we were doing this bridesmaid segment, we asked christine what were the kathie lee's dresses.

you said i dintd have brides itmaid dresses. >> it was in the 1800s. >> my sister is going -- >> she said the day off you said wear this, and here we are. >> well -- really? there she is. >> just so you know -- >> she does have it on. it's three pieces, and if you look closely, an alcohol stain. we had a party dress. >> you know what? i do not recognize it. >> i knew you weren't going to. >> i was wearing the sexy dress, and i insisted my sister wear that. that's what they do. >> i like it. >> now i'm in it. >> it looks gorgeous on you. i've never seen you so virginal ever. >> bye, girl. >> bye heidi. >> i'm going to get my sheep.

>> sarah, how are you? >> i'm sitting here in gloves. this is ridiculous. we're talking about what people would give up to get rit of belly fat, and valerie wrote soda, xhol and all my wash drord. and willow wrote anything i have to. can i move it upstairs. i'm 39 years old but i look like a teenage boy. willow. >> that's okay. >> we have this wine sitting here. i guess you can get weird things. you pull out the cigarette -- it's so tasteful and classy, and you can power your wine. it goes specifically with this particular pizza that won a prize. it's gourmet pizza classic. it's in ling kcoln center. >> we have a lot comingi up. amy ryan is with us. she left "the office" and she's

going boating with jack. >> we'll talk with her. ♪ [ mom ] game time is all about the traditions. it's all about the tackles and the touchdowns... and watching my boys do what they do. but for me, it's even more than that. game time is about our time. together. [ female announcer ] get low prices on all your favorites for the game. save money. live better. walmart.

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three years ago amy ryan burst into the mainstream with an oscar nomination for her portrayal of a drug addicted mother in the film ""gone baby gone."" >> now she's doing a character in "jack goes boating." welcome. >> i watched this movie last night, and i had no idea what to expect. it's what you call a little movie in the sense that it's small cast, right, amy, but big themes. they're all deali. >> they're all dealing with love. the start of new love and deterioration of an older love. to me, i feel like these are characters that we pass so easily on the streets in new york city. >> they're anonymous but their lives are big.

>> as a result you care so much about them, because it's a bittersweet character. especially philip seymour hoffman. he plays a limo driver. he gets set up with my character, and they don't both have much luck at love. >> tell me what you do. >> i work in the basement of a funeral parlor. >> trying to sell grief seminars. >> how does that go? >> it's awful. >> she's terrible at love until she meets phil's character. she makes that choice of it's now or never, and the althou alternative of living alon wilo with 40 cats. >> what was it like working with him as a director? >> to be directed by him, it feels like you're getting the answers from the smartest kid in class for the test. he's very passionate. he's a bit of a hard ass in a good way. >> he's type a.

>> he wants you to keep up with him, and it's great to be invited to keep up with him. >> was it intimidating to work with him? >> no. i've worked with him before. we're a group of friends from new york. >> you weren't in the original stage show? >> right. the stage show was rewritten when it became a screenplay. they were playing catch-up as much as i was. >> i love that your xhashgt is interesting in some ways because she fades into the pavement, but at the same time she desperately wants attention in the weirdest kind of quirky ways. there's a scene where she's always making something more out of something. if somebody touches here like this, she thinks the guy is -- >> i watched her do that. >> she's in the top of the field. >> you know the type, right? you know you didn't? yes, he did.

>> he did. >> and then drugs plays a big part in this whole thing, too. >> yeah. they imbibe a bit and party. >> how naturally did that come to you, amy? >> that was acting. i was pregnant at the time. >> people may know you from "in treatment" this was a popular show. >> i start this fall. i play gabriel byrne's new character. he's a dreamy actor to work with and a nice man. beautiful. >> he's beautiful, too. >> this one is very busy. >> i don't know. >> i will play holly again on "the office" with steve carrell next month. >> what do you do as a mom now? >> i don't sleep. >> do you have a hobby? >> no. >> you're not as well-balanced as we thought, amy. >> i'm not. i read when i can if i can, but otherwise it's taking my daughter out to the park as much

as possible. >> it's a delight to see you. >> great luck with the move spree. >> i was moved by this film. he has a great eye as a director as well. what a surprise? >> yeah. >> thanks so much. >> thank you. >> you can catch "jack goes boating" in new york and los angeles this friday. we want you to live like a hot chick. remember them? >> i remember, but i tried it. it hasn't worked yet for me. does your smooth pass the second day test? or does frizz make you start all over? get ready for a revolution. the new pantene. frizzy to smooth system. medium to thick hair absorbs up to 40% more moisture. so we customized a pro-v system that in test, outlasts the frizz point. the results? smooth stays into the second day. put it to the test. frizzy to smooth from new pantene. healthy makes it happen. the pantene re-invention is here. introducing the new pantene custom solutions.

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tired of living the same rum drum life day after day. >> they told us how to eat and love like a hot chick. now they want you to live like one. >> pretty soon it will be how to die like one. >> it's all in their new book. look at them sitting here. >> it's a little odd. >> he's preparing for a huge

debate with the hutchens, the atheist guy. enough about him. how are you? >> we can get a word in this time without him here. >> what makes this book unique and different from the other two? >> this book and all of them are really about our own struggles. the first was with struggles with body image, and the second one was about our struggles to find the right guy. we all struggle to find balance in our lives. >> there's days where you feel like you have it, and the next day it falls -- >> absolutely. we think all women are struggling with this. we're working ten-hour days to pay the bills and deal with the piles of laundry and hopefully get a facial and pedicure. sometimes it's chaos, and we're buzzing through life all stressed out and overwhelmed. this book is really about calming it down, findsing balan

balance and defining your life and having a hay dai. >> that's like the rosetta stone trying to find balance. you give everything here and there, and you feel out of gas. >> we say that in the book. your balance might be out of balance. i just had a baby three months ago. my balance right now is like this. >> give little mercies with yourself. >> exactly. >> we're in such a hurry in our culture. instant everything. we have a baby, and we want to be instantly skinny again. >> it's about being in the moment and really appreciating what we have right now. so many of us are like i will happy with i lose that last 10 or 20 pounds or when i make more money or find a man that's good for me. you have to appreciate what you have now in order to get to the point where you're in balance with your life. >> you're a whiner otherwise, and nobody wants to be around a whiner. >> it's good to take care of yourself physically. that ends up being the last thing on the list, right? >> you can't do your bess in your career and feel your best

with your boyfriend or husband or friends if you're not taking care of your body. if you move through life hating your body, you're never going to do your best. >> how about people who say i don't have time, the usual stuff? >> it's about feeling like a hot chick. it's a confident, empowered woman who is bold and isn't afraid to get what she wants out of life. feeling hot needs to start first, you know, internally. >> that's like the lady that was on the elliptical the other day. she was like 220 pounds and she was on that elliptical and everybody wanted to be here. she was like look although me. you wanted to be here. she was loving it. >> it's true. it doesn't matter what size or shape you are. if you have that confidence, that's going to attract men, friendses, the right job. >> here's the trouble with confidence, though. confidence starts whether you're a small child and it builds in you depending on the values you've been taught. it's hard to teach somebody that's never been taught values and never taught they are

valuable in return and they have it inside. really? that needs to be built. >> we've met a lot of women reading the books and saying thank you. no one has ever given me the tools to say, okay, i'm going to turn off this nasty inner monologue and stop telling myself i'm beautiful and stop competing with other women and stop opening up the tabloid magazines. it's so negative and affects how we feel about ourselves. there are these tips and you can really change that. it's working. >> ladies, thank you. >> thank you. still to come, some of the funniest movies of all, and they're guaranteed to put you in a good mood. >> the gentleman's name is christopher hutchens. how to turn that bridesmaid dress into something you care about. let's do something with mine. dancing there? flying there? how about eating soup to get there? delicious campbell's soups fill you with good nutrition, energy,

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go-gurt is specially made to freeze and thaw by lunch time? so kids can have their favorite yogurt in their lunchox go-gurt. freeze it. thaw it. eat it up. good morning, everybody. time now, 10:26, i'm brent cannon, checking in with mike. debris to watch out for this morning. >> and debris that came off the truck, the bed liner from a pickup. northbound 680 as you're approaching mission north as you're coming around the bend toward washington avenue. so watch for slowing around that bend. chp will reportedly send someone out there. as you're heading out of the south bay. northbound 101 at 880, an accident moving to the shoulder. northbound at hamilton, we have a car fire reported also on the side of the road, but that will be a distraction. and the bay bridge, mild backup

there. things are heavier, but it tons to improve as you get out of the east bay. low clouds still hanging around in many spots. rob has your forecast. >> morning clouds break up. 70 degrees in san jose, 80s toward the trivalley. 65, san francisco. 70 in oakland. seven-day forecast shows the same story for tomorrow. friday, a few extra clouds. showers in the far north bay. saturday into sunday, a chance of showers across the rest of the bay area, but cooler temperatures through the weekend. warming up early next week.

barbara boxer. she fought to get our veterans the first full combat carecalifornia. her after school law's keeping a million kids off the street and out of gangs. and she's fighting every day to create new jobs. boxer: i'm working to make california the leader in clean energy, to jump-start our small businesses with tax credits and loans, to create thousands more california jobs. i'm barbara boxer and i approve this message because i want to see the words "made in america" again.

people who survived the san bruno blast are slowly trying to piece their lives back together again. there are so many survival stories from that night. betty is pregnant, grabbed her children and didn't look back. >> i don't even know what's going on. but we just ran. we didn't have any shoes, you know. the kids were -- we had to borrow all this stuff from our neighbor. >> last night, she was able to go home for the first time. she and her family members had to wear white safety suits though, so they could search for mementoes that remind them of life before the blast. she says her children are still afraid. >> sometimes it's heart-breaking, because my-year-old still keeps praying for safety every night because she said if i don't pray for safety, the fire might come back. >> the house is still standing, but it was badly damaged. victims say the neighborhood

will never feel the same. some say they are just afraid to rebuild and move back in. thanks for joining us today. the "today" show continues, coming up next. we'll see you back here again tomorrow morning. we're back on wednesday with more of "today." it's time to play "who knew?" and we're quizzing you on some of the hollywood's hilarious comedies. kathie lee is across the street. she's going to give $100 gift cards to the ones that answer the questions correctly, and to those who don't, they get kathie lee's cd. here to help me owl is allison bales. ho do you think they'll do today? >> they always do great. >> i think she might give them the answers. >> let's go to kathie. let's sigh a short clip from "the proposal."

okay? >> now wheel it. >> what are you doing? >> oh, you know, i went with the beat. >> all right. true or false. in this movie betty white playing sandra bullock's mother. >> false. >> you're right, miss orlando. are you next? >> she plays ryan reynolds' grandmother annie. she's 88 now and she's the last of the golden girls left. she's having a banner year. everyone thinks sandra bullock had a good year last year, but betty white has a new sitcom on tv and she has another show coming out this month and she's been on "30 rock" and "ugly betty." she's lovely.

>> back across. >> from georgia. they're going to lynn to a clip. >> i've just been handed an urgent and horrifying news story. i need all of you to stop what you're doing and listen. cannonball! >> all right. in anchor man what is the name of will ferrell's character? >> ron burgundy. >> you watched that nasty movie didn't you? >> two right. >> how could you say that nasty movie? it was a great one. the legend of ron burgundy. he's a legend. the director is is saying there is going to be a sequel. he wants to get the whole group together. he and will ferrell met on "snl" on together and did talladega nights together and stepbrothers and they have these great shorts

on funnyordie.com. >> i meant naughty movie. here's another clip. this lady is from the kaman islands with her beautiful little 3-month-old son. watch the clip. >> this is what the movie industry is all about. >> i love this. >> let's go. >> bye. >> i think so. >> i've never run so fast in my life. >> "get them to the greek." what's the name of the band? you were probably have this baby about whether this came out. >> i have never seen this movie. all i can say is stone fairies. >> you know what. i'll get you a lullaby album. >> the correct one is infant sorrow. you have to see "forgetting sarah marshall" and this is are russell brand first appeared. this is a spin-off. jonas hill the other guy in this

was in "forgetting sarah ma you deserve this, you know that? >> the correct answer is chicago. >> she kind of did deserve that. john hughes is from chicago. he sets practically all his films there, and this scene was shot during a parade ongoing.

he didn't create the scene. it was a german american culture and the parade happening on september 25th in central park. >> no time for one more? looks like we have to go. kat is on her way back to join me. up next, a good reason to give your bridesmaid dress back to the bride. we'll explain next. their bodies are 60% water. their brains are 75% water. their muscles are 73% water. their lungs are 80% water. want to grow a healthier, happier family? water daily. embrace the pure life. nestle pure life. ♪

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you're so good at keeping everyone full... and focused with your fiber. [ laughs ] but you already are great at doing that. really? sure. you're made with fiber, just like me. but best of all, you're the perfect size for smaller kids. [ female announcer ] give your little ones kellogg's® frosted mini-wheats little bites™ cereal in chocolate and now original flavor. they're an excellent source of fiber packed in a smaller size. [ doorbell rings ] oh, it's original little bite™. we're off to practice keeping 'em full and focused. yeah! we've got big shoes to fill! everyday i eat your soups,

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today's wedding is brought to you by chevy. every models is backed by a 100,000 mile, five-year power train limited warrant. we're back with our special series, and in honor of the wedding that "today" is throwing in two weeks, we're going to talk about bridesmaid dresses. >> it's a long way in two weeks. the "today" pride-to-be melissa was reunited with her groom jeremy stationed in afghanistan for the last ten months. they got to see the wedding party attire america gets to vote on for their wedding. >> if you've been a bridesmaid, you know what happens the dress you peel it off. >> people keep it for 24 years. >> or they toss it. >> not always. >> jill martin has it. >> this is kathie lee's brid

bridesmaid dress. >> it was my strr. >> i wore it because i wanted to show everyone, but we didn't trnz form this one. >> i wish you had. >> it's too good. >> we had people send in their bridesmaid dresses and transformed them. nicole from our wardrobe department did it. under $12 for everything. >> what do you do with them when you're done? >> you can donate, helpprom.org for people that need prom dresses. you can buy or sell, and you can swap. people are going on facebook is saying i need a great dress for this wedding. our first one, we have a before shot of her wedding party of what the dress looked like. we made it into a frame and a scrapbook, so that's the dress. now look. for under $12 it's a frame with their wedding picture. how great to give that as a gift back, and then a scrapbook. >> the one you showed she could

have worn to lots of events. that's one you could. >> you never wear that dress that was your bridesmaid dress. >> were you a bridesmaid ever? >> i guess i'm forgetting everything. i was a maid of honor once, but i don't know what i've worn. >> i've been a lot of bridesmaid but those dresses i've never worn again. this is a great gift to give back. this is a broach and you fill it with pictures. that's a very nice gift. next we have emily. >> ak the emily. >> this is her friend lindsay's dress. we have the before shot of emily here, and we shortened t. added a j. crew sweater with a belt. >> often shortening it solves your problem. >> that's what you said about a bridesmaid dress. >> how much would it cost to turn a dress into something shorter than? >> nicole said $15 and under. >> that's do-able. >> next we have michelle from california. she's having twins.

she's on bed rest. we have her before picture here. these are pink and purple dress, to that could be for her baby's room. >> very sweet. >> the tissue box and pillow. something from your wedding and put it in your baby's room. and then we have a very special guest. >> we do? >> yes. this is ci k cici who is say go friend of mine. she's four and a half. this is stephanie before dress. the bottom was a skirt. now -- we have to model. let's do your moves so everybody can see you and your hips. >> we made it into a skirt which was under $25 and a rosette applique. these are different ways to use your bridesmaid dresses. >> maybe someday you'll have bridesmaid dresses. >> not anytime soon.

>> can we cut to commercial? coming up how bravo is sweept sweetening the top chef spot right after this. [ female announcer ] your hands are only as clean as the towel used to dry them. so why use the same hand towel over and over instead of a clean, fresh one every time? kleenex® brand hand towels. a clean, fresh towel every time. blend it. sprinkle it. sweet! [ female announcer ] just about anywhere you use sugar you can use splenda® no calorie sweetener. [ male announcer ] savory. fluffy.

yummy. sweet! [ female announcer ] splenda®. america's favorite no calorie sweetener. but this is warm, fresh-baked strawberry toaster strudel. [ music ] see the difference? pillsbury toaster strudel, the one kids want to eat. than listening to our favorite songs. there's nothing we love more than listening to our favorite songs. but our favorite thing is eating totino's pizza rolls. but our favorite thing is eating totino's pizza rolls.

♪ we're the kids in america ♪ oh, oh, oh

but what really happened? cnn -- not me -- cnn says his assertion about his tax record was "just plain wrong." jerry brown went out there and took credit for the fact that the people of california voted for proposition 13, which lowered taxes, which he opposed. and now he's going around taking credit for it. he raised taxes as governor of california. he had a surplus when he took office and a deficit when he left.

he doesn't tell the people the truth. they're serving up drama of another kind. >> the show is called "top chef just desserts." it pits 20 pastry chefs against eef other, and the editor at large -- >> beautiful pronunciation. >> is one of the judges. we're happy to have you back. >> i'm so glad to see you, ladies. >> congratulations. "top chef" is winning -- after "amazing race" one it for how many years? >> seven years. >> i like the theme of thshis, just desserts. >> the name says it all. every top chef man knows the desserts can be the achilles heel. they say make a dessert, and

they collapse and start crying. it's time pastry chefs got they are due. we're celebrating them. we have 12 mazing contestants we start out with, and they're challenged like they are in "top chef." they're a quick fire of testing skills and an elimination challenge where they craft something decadent, amazing, outrageous and delicious. it's dramatic. exciting. >> the visual is exciting. there's so much to do. >> it's like their paintings. >> do they all have a background in pastry and desserts and that kind of thing? >> some of them are bakers. they're not making fancy desserts. they're baking brownies. one is a baker here in new york. others have worked creating, you know, some of the most elaborate concoctions at fancy restaurants across the country. it runs the gamut. >> we see you with daily candy. >> that's what i did for eight years. it's been our job to discover

the sweetest stuff in life, whether it's fashion or accessories or the latest restaurants and the latest food trends. sometimes we'll come on and talk about the latest baked goods we've found across the country. it was a natural fit to join the judges' table. today i brought you treats that are really sort of special outrageous desserts to get you in the mood for "top chef just desserts." these truffles are from a man named robert shea. >> there's two different kinds here. >> three. >> we're not sure which are which. >> try one. >> why don't you try one. it's dash. it's luscious. this might be a scotch truffle. one is sort of tobacco-flavored, one is scotch flavored. that's the same one. sometimes he uses ingredients or essences like -- he wants to use

weird stuff but delicious stuff. >> hoda's on her second one. >> i'm not done yet. >> he wants to be each of his customer's personal pastry chef. >> pretty incredible, right? >> this, i don't know what to make of psycho doughnuts. the name might say it all. this is a doughnut hamburger or hamburger doughnut. it's a sesame doughnut bun. >> should we get barney rubble to try it? is that all right if we bring him in? >> barney, come over here. >> we'll call him at the end. >> do you want to try this, hoda. >> they have a store in campbell, california and are opening a new one in san jose. they're all about doughnuts. >> we've got to cruise but we have to cruise. >> a bourbon milk shake. >> that's on our sister network

bravo at 11:00/10:00 central time. >> you have to get the visual. >> he's barney rubble and i'm betty. now we have it going on. >> we'll be back with more of "today" on nbc. what do you think, don?

inches. everyone has a story including gracy rosenberg and her husband peter who we met last year. >> they have taken off and written a book called "gracy standing with hope." >> they're here with us today. your story blew us away. we do a great story of amazing people every month, but yours in particular -- well i write on the back of your book you might be the most incredibly brave and courageous person i've known in my life, and i've met a lot of great people. >> i know. you've met a lot of people. i got to up your pay.

i mean, it's a god thing. it's totally a god thing. >> somebody asked me this. i wrote it. it's great, and it was told me. which is the first time it happened with a husband and wife. now know why. the stitches come out next week. the doctor says full recovery is possible. >> you talk so much about what you've been through physically and emotionally and spiritually, but all along those of who have known you for a while had no idea peter had to be rescued from something as well. do you want to talk about it? >> we want to. >> yes, we do. >> we don't but we do. >> 90% of the couples that have a disability end in a divorce, whether it's a child or spouse. most of those is because men bailed. as i wrote this book, i did not want women whose husbands left them to think this is great for

gracy. he does everything for her. which i do. they needed to see they were two people that need to be restored and redeemed, and i had been involved in very, very serious immorality, adultery. i cheated. nobody knew this. i didn't get caught. i wasn't drug out. i was sitting in church sunday after sunday listening to this great grace of god that covers a multitude of sins. finally i believed and i was willing to trust stepped up to . we kept it private, and it was jeff foxworthy that said you need to tell this. i know people that are right all the time, and thart not real. this is real. >> how did you forgive him? that's the deal. >> it's a process of forgiveness. >> you hear the ruth graham story about not wanting a divorce and just killing thing. >> listen, i got to tell you this. you've never been kicked until you've been kicked with a woman with metal legs.

had no idea how far the penetration of those suckers were. >> you're still together, and you're you're still healing physically and emotionally, and that's all covered in this book. >> you heal. you can answer this as well as i could about how you forgive. it's a process. i'm still forgiving. i wake up some days and think, i'm not going to forgive that guy. and then i have to remember, oh, i got to forgive him all over again. and it's about remembering that my heart is just as black. it's just that my stuff didn't go the same -- >> it's on the outside. it's on the outside. >> two broken people. >> we'll see everybody tomorrow. >> a terrific book. "gracy standing." >> incredible book. maybe we could do a little showing with liz call lowway

singing a song on our show about showing with liz call lowway singing a song on our show about that. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com this flu season, what would you pick for your flu vaccine? a shot in the arm? or a spray in the nose? i pick my nose. i pick my nose. i pick my nose gracefully. flumist. it's the only flu vaccine that starts fighting the flu in the nose, where you usually catch it. in a study of kids 2 to 5 years of age, flumist cut the risk of getting the flu in half compared to the flu shot. i picked my nose. she said i could. flumist may not protect everyone. flumist is not for people allergic to eggs or other vaccine ingredients or for children and teens taking aspirin or products containing aspirin, or for anyone who's had life-threatening reactions to flu vaccines. health conditions including guillian-barré syndrome,

a weakened immune system, diabetes, pregnancy, or heart, kidney, or lung disease may exclude you from getting flumist. your doctor will decide if flumist is right for you. common side effects include runny nose or nasal congestion, sore throat, and fever. talk to your doctor to find out if flumist is right for your family. and visit flumist.com. sure is nice to have a choice. barbara boxer. she fought to get our veterans the first full combat carecalifornia. her after school law's keeping a million kids off the street and out of gangs. and she's fighting every day to create new jobs. boxer: i'm working to make california the leader in clean energy, to jump-start our small businesses with tax credits and loans, to create thousands more california jobs. i'm barbara boxer and i approve this message because i want to see the words "made in america" again.